Genetically engineered p30 antigen, improved antigen cocktail, and uses thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a genetically engineered P30 antigen and a combination or mixture of antigens (e.g., the genetically engineered P30 antigen and P35) that may be used in the detection of IgM and/or IgG antibodies to  Toxoplasma gondii . Furthermore, the present invention also relates to methods of using this genetically engineered P30 antigen and combination of antigens, antibodies raised against this genetically engineered P30 antigen and combination of antigens, as well as kits and vaccines containing the genetically engineered P30 antigen and antigens present in the combination.

The present application is a divisional of allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/316,532, filed on Dec. 21, 2005, to which priority is claimed, which is, in turn, a divisional of U.S. Pat. No. 7,094,879, issued on Aug. 22, 2006, to which priority is also claimed, both hereby being incorporated in their entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a genetically engineered P30 antigen as well as a combination or mixture of antigens which may be used in the detection of IgM and/or IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii. Furthermore, the present invention also relates to methods of using this genetically engineered P30 antigen and combination of antigens, antibodies raised against this genetically engineered P30 antigen and combination of antigens, as well as kits and vaccines containing the genetically engineered P30 antigen and antigens present in the combination.

2. Background Information

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite which is classified among the Coccidia. This parasite has relatively broad host range infecting both mammals and birds. The organism is ubiquitous in nature and exists in three forms: tachyzoite, cyst, and oocyst (Remington, J. S., McLeod, R., Desmonds, G., Infectious Diseases of the Fetus and Newborn Infant (J. S. Remington and J. O. Klein, Eds.), pp. 140-267, Saunders, Philadelphia (1995)). Tachyzoites, found during acute infection, are the invasive form capable of invading all nucleated mammalian cells. After the acute stage of infection, tissue cysts called bradyzoites are formed within host cells and persist within the host organism for the life of the host. Cysts are important in transmission of infection, especially in humans, as the ingestion of raw or undercooked meat can result in the ingestion of bradyzoites which can infect the individual resulting in an acute infection. Oocysts represent a stage of sexual reproduction which occurs only in the intestinal lining of the cat family from which they are excreted in the feces.

A T. gondii infection acquired through contaminated meat or cat feces in a healthy adult is often asymptomatic. In pregnant women and immunosuppressed patients, the clinical outcome can be very serious. An acute infection with T. gondii acquired during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester, can result in intrauterine transmission to the unborn fetus resulting in severe fetal and neonatal complications, including mental retardation and fetal death. Recrudescence of a previous T. gondii infection or an acute infection in an immunosuppressed individual can be pathogenic. Toxoplasmic encephalitis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in AIDS patients. Toxoplasma infection has also been shown to be a significant cause of chorioretinitis in children and adults.

Diagnosis of infection with T. gondii may be established by the isolation of T. gondii from blood or body fluids, demonstration of the presence of the organism in the placenta or tissues of the fetus, demonstration of the presence of antigen by detection of specific nucleic acid sequences (e.g., DNA probes), or detection of T. gondii specific immunoglobulins synthesized by the host in response to infection using serologic tests.

The detection of T. gondii specific antibodies and determination of antibody titer are important tools used in the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis. The most widely used serologic tests for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis are the Sabin-Feldman dye test (Sabin, A. B. and Feldman, H. A. (1948) Science 108, 660-663), the indirect hemagglutination (IHA) test (Jacobs, L. and Lunde, M. (1957) J. Parasitol. 43, 308-314), the IFA test (Walton, B. C. et al. (1966) Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 15, 149-152), the agglutination test (Fondation Mérieux, Sérologie de I'Infection Toxoplasmique en Particulier á Son Début: Méthodes et Interprétation des Résultants, Lyon, 182 pp. (1975)) and the ELISA (Naot, Y. and Remington, J. S. (1980) J. Infect. Dis. 142, 757-766). The ELISA test is one the easiest tests to perform, and many automated serologic tests for the detection of Toxoplasma specific IgM and IgG are commercially available.

The current tests for the detection of IgM and IgG antibodies in infected individuals can vary widely in their ability to detect serum antibody. Hence, there is significant inter-assay variation seen among the commercially available kits. The differences observed between the different commercial kits are caused primarily by the preparation of the antigen used for the serologic test. Most kits use either whole or sonicated tachyzoites grown in tissue culture or in mice which contain a high proportion of extra-parasitic material, for example, mammalian cells, tissue culture components, etc. Due to the lack of a purified, standardized antigen or standard method for preparing the tachyzoite antigen, it is not surprising that inter-assay variability exists resulting in different assays having different performance characteristics in terms of assay sensitivity and specificity.

Given the limitations of serologic tests employing the tachyzoite antigen, as described above, as well as the persistent problems regarding determination of onset of infection, purified recombinant antigens obtained by molecular biology are an attractive alternative in that they can be purified and standardized. In the literature, a number of Toxo genes have been cloned and expressed in a suitable host to produce immunoreactive, recombinant Toxo antigens. For example, the Toxo P22 (SAG2), P24 (GRA1), P25, P28 (GRA2), P29 (GRA7), P30 (SAG1), P35, P41 (GRA4), P54 (ROP2), P66 (ROP1), and the Toxo P68 antigens have been described (Prince et al. (1990) Mol. Biochem. Parasitol 43, 97-106; Cesbron-Delauw et al. (1989) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 86, 7537-7541; Johnson et al. (1991) Gene 99, 127-132; Prince et al. (1989) Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 34, 3-13; Bonhomme et al. (1998) J. Histochem. Cytochem. 46, 1411-1421; Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141, 3584-3591; Knapp et al. (1989) EPA 431541A2; Mevelec et al. (1992) Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 56, 227-238; Saavedra et al. (1991) J. Immunol. 147, 1975-1982); EPA 751 147).

It is plausible that no single Toxo antigen can replace the tachyzoite in an initial screening immunoassay for the detection of Toxo-specific immunoglobulins. This may be due to several reasons. First, the antibodies produced during infection vary with the stage of infection, i.e., the antibodies produced by an infected individual vary over time reacting with different epitopes. Secondly, the epitopes present in a recombinant antigen may be different or less reactive than native antigen prepared from the tachyzoite depending on the host used for expression and the purification scheme employed. Thirdly, different recombinant antigens may be needed to detect the different classes of immunoglobulins produced in response to an infection, e.g., IgM, IgG, IgA and IgE.

In order to overcome the limitations of the tachyzoite antigen in terms of assay specificity and sensitivity, a search was done for Toxo antigens which could be used in combination in order to configure new assays for the detection of Toxo-specific immunoglobulins. Maine et al. (in U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,157 B1) disclose recombinant Toxo antigen cocktails for the detection of Toxo-specific IgG and IgM. It was determined that the above mentioned Toxo antigen cocktails could be improved and enhanced by expression of Toxo P30 in E. coli as a soluble protein with genetically engineered modifications. This genetically engineered P30 antigen and improved antigen cocktail will be described in further detail below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention includes a genetically engineered Toxoplasma gondii P30 antigen as well as a composition comprising both Toxoplasma gondii genetically engineered P30 antigen and P35 antigen. This genetically engineered antigen and composition may be used as diagnostic reagents, and the genetically engineered antigen and the antigens within this composition may be produced either recombinantly or synthetically.

In particular, the present invention includes an isolated nucleotide sequence or fragment thereof comprising or complementary to a nucleotide sequence having at least 70% nucleotide sequence identity to a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:22, SEQ ID NO:27 and SEQ ID NO:63. The present invention also includes an isolated nucleotide sequence or fragment thereof encoding a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide has at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64. The present invention also includes a purified polypeptide encoded by any of the nucleotide sequences presented above.

Additionally, the present invention includes a purified polypeptide or fragment thereof having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64. Also, the present invention includes a purified polypeptide or fragment thereof comprising an amino acid sequence having 1-6 additional amino acids at the C-terminus of SEQ ID NO:28. The invention also includes a purified polypeptide or fragment thereof comprising an amino acid sequence as in SEQ ID NO:23 in which any one or more of the five C-terminal amino acids have been changed from cysteine to alanine. Further, the present invention also includes a polyclonal or monoclonal antibody directed against these purified polypeptides.

The present invention also includes a composition comprising a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64. This composition may be used as a diagnostic reagent, and the polypeptide of the composition may be produced by recombinant or synthetic means.

Additionally, the present invention includes a method for detecting the presence of IgM antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising the steps of: a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing the IgM antibodies with a composition comprising a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64; and b) detecting the presence of polypeptide/IgM antibody complexes, wherein presence of the complexes indicates presence of the IgM antibodies in the test sample.

Furthermore, the present invention also includes a method for detecting the presence of IgM antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising the steps of: a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing the IgM antibodies with a composition comprising a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64, for a time and under conditions sufficient for the formation of IgM antibody/antigen complexes; b) adding a conjugate to the resulting IgM antibody/antigen complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow said conjugate to bind to the bound antibody, wherein the conjugate comprises an antibody attached to a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal; and c) detecting presence of IgM antibodies which may be present in the test sample by detecting presence of a signal generated by the signal-generating compound.

Moreover, the present invention encompasses a method for detecting the presence of IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising the steps of: a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing the IgG antibodies with a composition comprising: 1) a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64 and 2) P35; and b) detecting presence of antigen/IgG antibody complexes, presence of the complexes indicating presence of said IgG antibodies in the test sample.

The invention also encompasses a method for detecting the presence of IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising the steps of: a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing the IgG antibodies with a composition comprising: 1) a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64 and 2) P35, for a time and under conditions sufficient for formation of IgG antibody/antigen complexes; b) adding a conjugate to resulting IgG antibody/antigen complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the conjugate to bind to bound antibody, wherein the conjugate comprises an antibody attached to a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal; and c) detecting IgG antibodies which may be present in the test sample by detecting presence of a signal generated by said signal-generating compound.

Furthermore, the present invention includes a method for detecting the presence of IgM antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising the steps of: a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing the IgM antibodies with anti-antibody specific for the IgM antibodies for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow for formation of anti-antibody/IgM antibody complexes; b) adding a conjugate to resulting anti-antibody/IgM antibody complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the conjugate to bind to bound antibody, wherein the conjugate comprises a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64, attached to a signal generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal; and c) detecting IgM antibodies which may be present in the test sample by detecting presence of a signal generated by the signal-generating compound.

Further, the present invention includes a method for detecting the presence of IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising the steps of: a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing the IgG antibodies with anti-antibody specific for the IgG antibodies for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow for formation of anti-antibody/IgG antibody complexes; b) adding a conjugate to resulting anti-antibody/IgG antibody complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the conjugate to bind to bound antibody, wherein the conjugate comprises: 1) a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64, and 2) P35, each attached to a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal; and c) detecting IgG antibodies which may be present in the test sample by detecting the presence of a signal generated by each of the signal-generating compounds.

The present invention also encompasses a vaccine comprising: a) at least one polypeptide selected from the group consisting of: 1) a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64 and 2) P35, and b) a pharmaceutically acceptable adjuvant.

Also, the invention includes a kit for determining the presence of IgM antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising a composition comprising a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64; and a conjugate comprising an antibody attached to a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal.

Also, the present invention includes a kit for determining the presence of IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising: a composition comprising 1) a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64 and 2) P35; and a conjugate comprising an antibody attached to a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal.

Additionally, the present invention encompasses a kit for determining the presence of IgM antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising:

a) an anti-antibody specific for IgM antibody; and b) a composition comprising a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64.

Furthermore, the present invention includes a kit for determining the presence of IgM antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising:

a) an anti-antibody specific for IgM antibody; b) a conjugate comprising: 1) a composition comprising a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64, attached to 2) a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal.

Also, the invention includes a kit for determining the presence of IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising:

a) an anti-antibody specific for IgG antibody; and b) a composition comprising: 1) a polypeptide, wherein said polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64 and 2) P35.

Another kit of the present invention includes a kit for determining the presence of IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising:

a) an anti-antibody specific for IgG antibody; b) a conjugate comprising: 1) a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64, and 2) P35, each attached to a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal.

Further, the present invention includes a method for detecting the presence of IgM antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising the steps of: (a) contacting said test sample suspected of containing IgM antibodies with anti-antibody specific for the IgM antibodies for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow for formation of anti-antibody IgM complexes; (b) adding antigen to resulting anti-antibody/IgM complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the antigen to bind to bound IgM antibody, the antigen comprising a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64; and (c) adding a conjugate to resulting anti-antibody/IgM/antigen complexes, the conjugate comprising a composition comprising monoclonal or polyclonal antibody attached to a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal; and (d) detecting IgM antibodies which may be present in the test sample by detecting a signal generated by the signal-generating compound.

Additionally, the invention includes a method for detecting the presence of IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising the steps of: (a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing IgG antibodies with anti-antibody specific for the IgG antibodies for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow for formation of anti-antibody IgG complexes; (b) adding antigen to resulting anti-antibody/IgG complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the antigen to bind to bound IgG antibody, the antigen comprising a mixture of 1) a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64, and 2) P35; (c) adding a conjugate to resulting anti-antibody/IgG/antigen complexes, the conjugate comprising a composition comprising a monoclonal or polyclonal antibody attached to a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal; and (d) detecting IgG antibodies which may be present in the test sample by detecting a signal generated by the signal-generating compound.

The present invention also includes a method for detecting the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising the steps of: a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing said IgM and IgG antibodies with a composition comprising 1) a polypeptide, wherein said polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64, and 2) P35, for a time and under conditions sufficient for the formation of IgM and IgG antibody/antigen complexes; b) adding a conjugate to the resulting IgM antibody/antigen complexes and IgG antibody/antigen complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the conjugate to bind to the bound IgM and IgG antibody, wherein the conjugate comprises an antibody attached to a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal; and c) detecting the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies which may be present in said test sample by detecting a signal generated by the signal-generating compound.

The invention also encompasses a method for detecting the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising the steps of: a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing the IgM and IgG antibodies with anti-antibody specific for the IgM antibodies and the IgG antibodies for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow for formation of anti-antibody/IgM antibody complexes and anti-antibody/IgG antibody complexes; b) adding a conjugate to resulting anti-antibody/IgM antibody complexes and resulting anti-antibody/IgG antibody complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the conjugate to bind to bound antibody, wherein the conjugate comprises a composition comprising: 1) a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence-selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64, and 2) P35, each attached to a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal; and c) detecting IgM and IgG antibodies which may be present in the test sample by detecting a signal generated by the signal-generating compound.

Moreover, the present invention also encompasses a method for detecting the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a test sample comprising the steps of: (a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing IgM and IgG antibodies with anti-antibody specific for the IgM antibodies and with anti-antibody specific for the IgG antibodies for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow for formation of anti-antibody/IgM complexes and anti-antibody/IgG complexes; (b) adding antigen to resulting anti-antibody/IgM complexes and resulting anti-antibody/IgG complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow said antigen to bind to bound IgM and IgG antibody, the antigen comprising a mixture of: 1) a polypeptide, wherein said polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64 and 2) P35; and (c) adding a conjugate to resulting anti-antibody/IgM/antigen complexes and anti-antibody/IgG/antigen complexes, the conjugate comprising a composition comprising monoclonal or polyclonal antibody attached to a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal; and (d) detecting IgM and IgG antibodies which may be present in the test sample by detecting a signal generated by the signal-generating compound.

The present invention also includes a method of producing monoclonal antibodies comprising the steps of injecting a non-human mammal with a polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 and SEQ ID NO:64; fusing spleen cells of the non-human mammal with myeloma cells in order to generate hybridomas; and culturing the hybridomas for a time and under conditions sufficient for the hybridomas to produce the monoclonal antibodies.

Moreover, the present invention encompasses the plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa), the plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa), as well as the plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1.

The invention also includes an isolated nucleotide sequence comprising or complementary to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:20 as well as a purified polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:21.

Furthermore, the present invention includes an isolated nucleotide sequence comprising or complementary to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:25 as well as a purified polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:26.

Additionally, the invention includes an isolated nucleotide sequence comprising or complementary to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:61 as well as a purified polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:62.

The present invention also includes portions or fragments of ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa), ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa), or ToxoP30MIX1, which have the same antigenic properties as the region of ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) which consists of amino acids 1-249, as the region of ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) which consists of amino acids 1-243, and the region of ToxoP30MIX1 which consists of amino acids 1-249, respectively.

All U.S. patents and publications referred to herein are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic of the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa). (The amino acid range in parentheses, noted here and throughout the application, refers to the amino acid sequence (e.g., present in the plasmid, protein, etc.) which has been derived from the native P30 antigen.)

FIG. 2 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:3] of nucleotides 1-7478 encoding the amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:4] of the MBP-ToxoP30(52-336aa) fusion protein of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa).

FIG. 3 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:5] of nucleotides 1-855 of the ToxoP30(52-336aa) gene and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:6] of the ToxoP30(52-336aa) protein.

FIG. 4 is a schematic of the construction of plasmid pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa).

FIG. 5 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:7] of nucleotides 1-7553 and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:8] of the MBP-ToxoP30(52-336aa) fusion protein of plasmid pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa).

FIG. 6 is a schematic of the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa).

FIG. 7 is a schematic of the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa).

FIG. 8 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:10] of nucleotides 1-7442 and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:11] of the MBP-ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa) fusion protein of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa).

FIG. 9 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:12] of nucleotides 1-819 of the ToxoP30del1C(52-324) gene and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:13] of the ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa) protein.

FIG. 10 is a schematic of the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del2(52-311aa).

FIG. 11 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:15] of nucleotides 1-7403 and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:16] of the MBP-ToxoP30del2(52-311aa) fusion protein of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del2(52-311aa).

FIG. 12 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:17] of nucleotides 1-780 of the ToxoP30del2(52-311aa) gene and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:18] of the ToxoP30del2(52-311aa) protein.

FIG. 13 is a schematic of the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3(52-300aa).

FIG. 14 is a schematic of the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa).

FIG. 15 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:20] of nucleotides 1-7370 and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:21] of the MBP-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) fusion protein of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa).

FIG. 16 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:22] of nucleotides 1-747 of the ToxoP30del3(52-300aa) and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:23] of the ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) protein.

FIG. 17 is a schematic of the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4(52-294aa).

FIG. 18 is a schematic of the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa).

FIG. 19 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:25] of nucleotides 1-7352 and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:26] of the MBP-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) fusion protein of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa).

FIG. 20 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:27] of nucleotides 1-729 of the ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) gene and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:28] of the ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) protein.

FIG. 21 is a schematic of the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa).

FIG. 22 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:30] of nucleotides 1-7259 and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:31] of the MBP-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa) fusion protein of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa).

FIG. 23 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:32] of nucleotides 1-636 of the ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa) gene and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:33] of the ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa) protein.

FIG. 24 is a schematic of the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa).

FIG. 25 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:35] of nucleotides 1-7322 and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:36] of the MBP-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) fusion protein of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa).

FIG. 26 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:37] of nucleotides 1-699 of the ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) gene and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:38] of the ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) protein.

FIG. 27 is a schematic of the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa).

FIG. 28 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:40] of nucleotides 1-7112 and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:41] of the MBP-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) fusion protein of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa).

FIG. 29 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:42] of nucleotides 1-489 of the ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) gene and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:43] of the ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) protein.

FIG. 30 is a schematic of the construction of plasmids pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1, pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX3, and pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX5.

FIG. 31 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:61] of nucleotides 1-7370 and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:62] of the MBP-ToxoP30MIX1 fusion protein of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1.

FIG. 32 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:63] of nucleotides 1-747 of the ToxoP30MIX1 gene and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:64] of the ToxoP30MIX1 protein.

FIG. 33 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:66] of nucleotides 1-7370 and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:67] of the MBP-ToxoP30MIX3 fusion protein of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX3.

FIG. 34 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:68] of nucleotides 1-747 of the ToxoP30MIX3 gene and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:69] of the ToxoP30MIX3 protein.

FIG. 35 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:71] of nucleotides 1-7370 and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:72] of the MBP-ToxoP30MIX5 fusion protein of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX5.

FIG. 36 represents the DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:73] of nucleotides 1-747 of the ToxoP30MIX5 gene and the corresponding encoded amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:74] of the ToxoP30MIX5 protein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The difficulties of known assays for the detection of IgG and IgM antibodies to T. gondii have been described, in detail, above. Thus, there was a need to discover immunoassays that could accurately detect the presence of such antibodies in positive serum or plasma, thereby eliminating the problem of false negative or false positive tests. The present invention provides such needed immunoassays and, in particular, an antigen and combinations of antigens which accurately detect the presence of IgG and/or IgM antibodies in human sera.

In particular, the present invention includes genetically engineered versions of the P30 antigen referred to herein as “ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa)” and “ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa)”, which contain small and precise deletions at the C-terminus of each protein that maximize the anti-Toxo IgG and IgM immunoreactivity of the P30 antigen in an immunoassay. The present invention also includes a genetically engineered version of the P30 antigen referred to herein as “ToxoP30MIX1”, which contains the same deletion at the C-terminus as ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) as well as five C-terminal cysteine residues changed to alanine. The invention also includes a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) in which any one or more of the last five cysteines at the C-terminus have been changed to alanine.

The nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the ToxoP30del3C antigen is shown in FIG. 16 and is represented by SEQ ID NO:22. The amino acid sequence of this antigen is also shown in FIG. 16 and is represented by SEQ ID NO:23. The nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the ToxoP30del4C antigen is shown in FIG. 20 and is represented by SEQ ID NO:27. The amino acid sequence of this antigen is also shown in FIG. 20 and is represented by SEQ ID NO: 28. The nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the ToxoP30MIX1 antigen is shown in FIG. 32 and is represented by SEQ ID NO:63. The amino acid sequence of this antigen is also shown in FIG. 32 and is represented by SEQ ID NO:64.

It should be noted that the present invention also encompasses nucleotide sequences comprising or complementary to a nucleotide sequence having at least about 70% nucleotide sequence identity, preferably at least about 80% nucleotide sequence identity, and more preferably at least about 90% nucleotide sequence identity to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:22, SEQ ID NO:27 or SEQ ID NO:63. (All integers within the ranges noted above (i.e., between 70 and 100) are also considered to fall within the scope of the present invention.) The sequence having the above-described percent identity or complementary sequences may be derived from species or sources other than from which the isolated, original sequences were derived.

Also, it should be noted that the present invention encompasses a polypeptide sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having at least about 70% amino acid sequence identity, preferably at least about 80% amino acid sequence identity, and more preferably at least about 90% amino acid sequence identity to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:23, SEQ ID NO:28 or SEQ ID NO:64. (All integers within the ranges noted above (i.e, between 70 and 100) are also considered to fall within the scope of the present invention.)

For purposes of the present invention, “complementarity” is defined as the degree of relatedness between two DNA segments. It is determined by measuring the ability of the sense strand of one DNA segment to hybridize with the antisense strand of the other DNA segment, under appropriate conditions, to form a double helix. In the double helix, wherever adenine appears in one strand, thymine appears in the other strand. Similarly, wherever guanine is found in one strand, cytosine is found in the other. The greater the relatedness between the nucleotide sequences of two DNA segments, the greater the ability to form hybrid duplexes between the strands of two DNA segments.

The term “identity” refers to the relatedness of two sequences on a nucleotide-by-nucleotide basis over a particular comparison window or segment. Thus, identity is defined as the degree of sameness, correspondence or equivalence between the same strands (either sense or antisense) of two DNA segments (or two amino acid sequences). “Percentage of sequence identity” is calculated by comparing two optimally aligned sequences over a particular region, determining the number of positions at which the identical base or amino acid occurs in both sequences in order to yield the number of matched positions, dividing the number of such positions by the total number of positions in the segment being compared and multiplying the result by 100. Optimal alignment of sequences may be conducted by the algorithm of Smith & Waterman, Appl. Math. 2:482 (1981), by the algorithm of Needleman & Wunsch, J. Mol. Biol. 48:443 (1970), by the method of Pearson & Lipman, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 85:2444 (1988) and by computer programs which implement the relevant algorithms (e.g., Clustal Macaw Pileup (http://cmgm.stanford.edu/biochem218/11Multiple.pdf; Higgins et al., CABIOS. 5L151-153 (1989)), FASTDB (Intelligenetics), BLAST (National Center for Biomedical Information; Altschul et al., Nucleic Acids Research 25:3389-3402 (1997)), PILEUP (Genetics Computer Group, Madison, Wis.) or GAP, BESTFIT, FASTA and TFASTA (Wisconsin Genetics Software Package Release 7.0, Genetics Computer Group, Madison, Wis.). (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,912,120.)

“Similarity” between two amino acid sequences is defined as the presence of a series of identical as well as conserved amino acid residues in both sequences. The higher the degree of similarity between two amino acid sequences, the higher the correspondence, sameness or equivalence of the two sequences. (“Identity between two amino acid sequences is defined as the presence of a series of exactly alike or invariant amino acid residues in both sequences.) The definitions of “complementarity”, “identity” and “similarity” are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

“Encoded by” refers to a nucleic acid sequence which codes for a polypeptide sequence, wherein the polypeptide sequence or a portion thereof contains an amino acid sequence of at least 3 amino acids, more preferably at least 8 amino acids, and even more preferably at least 15 amino acids from a polypeptide encoded by the nucleic acid sequence.

The present invention also encompasses an isolated nucleotide sequence which is hybridizable, under moderately stringent conditions, to a nucleic acid having a nucleotide sequence comprising or complementary to the nucleotide sequences described above. A nucleic acid molecule is “hybridizable” to another nucleic acid molecule when a single-stranded form of the nucleic acid molecule can anneal to the other nucleic acid molecule under the appropriate conditions of temperature and ionic strength (see Sambrook et al., “Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Second Edition (1989), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)). The conditions of temperature and ionic strength determine the “stringency” of the hybridization. “Hybridization” requires that two nucleic acids contain complementary sequences. However, depending on the stringency of the hybridization, mismatches between bases may occur. The appropriate stringency for hybridizing nucleic acids depends on the length of the nucleic acids and the degree of complementation. Such variables are well known in the art. More specifically, the greater the degree of similarity or homology between two nucleotide sequences, the greater the value of Tm for hybrids of nucleic acids having those sequences. For hybrids of greater than 100 nucleotides in length, equations for calculating Tm have been derived (see Sambrook et al., supra). For hybridization with shorter nucleic acids, the position of mismatches becomes more important, and the length of the oligonucleotide determines its specificity (see Sambrook et al., supra).

As used herein, an “isolated nucleic acid fragment or sequence” is a polymer of RNA or DNA that is single- or double-stranded, optionally containing synthetic, non-natural or altered nucleotide bases. An isolated nucleic acid fragment in the form of a polymer of DNA may be comprised of one or more segments of cDNA, genomic DNA or synthetic DNA. (A “fragment” of a specified polynucleotide refers to a polynucleotide sequence which comprises a contiguous sequence of approximately at least about 6 nucleotides, preferably at least about 8 nucleotides, more preferably at least about 10 nucleotides, and even more preferably at least about 15 nucleotides, and most preferably at least about 25 nucleotides identical or complementary to a region of the specified nucleotide sequence. (See U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,952 B1.) In contrast, a “fragment” of a specified polypeptide refers to an amino acid sequence which comprises at least about 5 amino acids, more preferably at least about 10 amino acids, and even more preferably at least 15 amino acids derived from the specified polypeptide.) Nucleotides (usually found in their 5′-monophosphate form) are referred to by their single letter designation as follows: “A” for adenylate or deoxyadenylate (for RNA or DNA, respectively), “C” for cytidylate or deoxycytidylate, “G” for guanylate or deoxyguanylate, “U” for uridylate, “T” for deoxythymidylate, “R” for purines (A or G), “Y” for pyrimidines (C or T), “K” for G or T, “H” for A or C or T, “I” for inosine, and “N” for any nucleotide.

The terms “fragment or subfragment that is functionally equivalent” and “functionally equivalent fragment or subfragment” are used interchangeably herein. These terms refer to a portion or subsequence of an isolated nucleic acid fragment in which the ability to alter gene expression or produce a certain phenotype is retained whether or not the fragment or subfragment encodes an active enzyme. A fragment or subfragment that is functionally equivalent to the original polypeptide sequence from which it is derived refers to a sequence which has the same properties (e.g., binding, antigenic, etc.) as the original polypeptide.

The terms “homology”, “homologous”, “substantially similar” and “corresponding substantially” are used interchangeably herein. They refer to nucleic acid fragments wherein changes in one or more nucleotide bases does not affect the ability of the nucleic acid fragment to mediate gene expression or produce a certain phenotype. These terms also refer to modifications of the nucleic acid fragments of the instant invention such as deletion or insertion of one or more nucleotides that do not substantially alter the functional properties of the resulting nucleic acid fragment relative to the initial, unmodified fragment. It is therefore understood, as those skilled in the art will appreciate, that the invention encompasses more than the specific exemplary sequences.

“Gene” refers to a nucleic acid fragment that expresses a specific protein, including regulatory sequences preceding (5′ non-coding sequences) and following (3′ non-coding sequences) the coding sequence.

“Native gene” refers to a gene as found in nature with its own regulatory sequences. In contrast, “chimeric construct” refers to a combination of nucleic acid fragments that are not normally found together in nature. Accordingly, a chimeric construct may comprise regulatory sequences and coding sequences that are derived from different sources, or regulatory sequences and coding sequences derived from the same source, but arranged in a manner different than that normally found in nature. (The term “isolated” means that the sequence is removed from its natural environment.)

The term “operably linked” refers to the association of nucleic acid sequences on a single nucleic acid fragment so that the function of one is regulated by the other. For example, a promoter is operably linked with a coding sequence when it is capable of regulating the expression of that coding sequence (i.e., that the coding sequence is under the transcriptional control of the promoter). Coding sequences can be operably linked to regulatory sequences in a sense or antisense orientation.

The term “expression”, as used herein, refers to the production of a functional end-product. Expression of a gene involves transcription of the gene and translation of the mRNA into a precursor or mature protein. “Antisense inhibition” refers to the production of antisense RNA transcripts capable of suppressing the expression of the target protein. “Co-suppression” refers to the production of sense RNA transcripts capable of suppressing the expression of identical or substantially similar foreign or endogenous genes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,020).

“Mature” protein refers to a post-translationally processed polypeptide; i.e., one from which any pre- or pro-peptides present in the primary translation product have been removed. “Precursor” protein refers to the primary product of translation of mRNA; i.e., with pre- and pro-peptides still present. Pre- and pro-peptides may be but are not limited to intracellular localization signals.

Standard recombinant DNA and molecular cloning techniques used herein are well known in the art and are described more fully in Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F. and Maniatis, T. Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: Cold Spring Harbor, 1989 (hereinafter “Sambrook”).

The term “recombinant” refers to an artificial combination of two otherwise separated segments of sequence, e.g., by chemical synthesis or by the manipulation of isolated segments of nucleic acids by genetic engineering techniques.

“PCR” or “Polymerase Chain Reaction” is a technique for the synthesis of large quantities of specific DNA segments, consists of a series of repetitive cycles (Perkin Elmer Cetus Instruments, Norwalk, Conn.). Typically, the double stranded DNA is heat denatured, the two primers complementary to the 3′ boundaries of the target segment are annealed at low temperature and then extended at an intermediate temperature. One set of these three consecutive steps is referred to as a cycle.

Polymerase chain reaction (“PCR”) is a powerful technique used to amplify DNA millions of fold, by repeated replication of a template, in a short period of time. (Mullis et al, Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 51:263-273 (1986); Erlich et al., European Patent Application 50,424; European Patent Application 84,796; European Patent Application 258,017, European Patent Application 237,362; Mullis, European Patent Application 201,184, Mullis et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,202; Erlich, U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,788; and Saiki et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,194). The process utilizes sets of specific in vitro synthesized oligonucleotides to prime DNA synthesis. The design of the primers is dependent upon the sequences of DNA that are desired to be analyzed. The technique is carried out through many cycles (usually 20-50) of melting the template at high temperature, allowing the primers to anneal to complementary sequences within the template and then replicating the template with DNA polymerase.

Furthermore, the present invention also includes a polyclonal or monoclonal antibody raised against ToxoP30del3C, ToxoP30del4C, or ToxoP30MIX1. Such an antibody may be used, for example, in an immunoassay, a vaccine, a kit, or for research purposes.

As noted above, the present invention also encompasses a composition or mixture comprising the following two antigens: genetically engineered P30 and P35. This combination or mixture of antigens may be utilized for the detection of IgG in IgG-positive sera or plasma (i.e., as a diagnostic reagent). Furthermore, the antigens may be produced either recombinantly or synthetically. Additionally, the present invention also includes a composition comprising antibodies raised against these antigens.

Further, as noted above, present invention also includes the genetically engineered P30 antigen. This antigen may be used for the detection of IgM in IgM-positive sera or plasma (i.e., as a diagnostic reagent), and the antigen may be produced either recombinantly or synthetically. Furthermore, the present invention also includes antibodies raised against this antigen.

If, in fact, one wishes to measure both the titer of IgM and IgG in a serum or plasma sample, then a composition or mixture of antigens such as genetically engineered P30 and P35 may be utilized in an immunoassay. Such a combination of antigens is also included within the scope of the present invention.

The present invention also includes methods of detecting IgM and/or IgG using the combinations of antigens described above. More specifically, there are two basic types of assays, competitive and non-competitive (e.g., immunometric and sandwich). In both assays, antibody or antigen reagents are covalently or non-covalently attached to the solid phase. Linking agents for covalent attachment are known and may be part of the solid phase or derivatized to it prior to coating. Examples of solid phases used in immunoassays are porous and non-porous materials, latex particles, magnetic particles, microparticles, beads, membranes, microtiter wells and plastic tubes. The choice of solid phase material and method of labeling the antigen or antibody reagent are determined based upon desired assay format performance characteristics. For some immunoassays, no label is required. For example, if the antigen is on a detectable particle such as a red blood cell, reactivity can be established based upon agglutination. Alternatively, an antigen-antibody reaction may result in a visible change (e.g., radial immunodiffusion). In most cases, one of the antibody or antigen reagents used in an immunoassay is attached to a signal generating compound or “label”. This signal generating compound or “label” is in itself detectable or may be reacted with one or more additional compounds to generate a detectable product (see also U.S. Pat. No. 6,395,472 B1). Examples of such signal generating compounds include chromogens, radioisotopes (e.g., 125I, 131I, 32P, 3H, 35S, and 14C), fluorescent compounds (e.g., fluorescein, rhodamine), chemiluminescent compounds, particles (visible or fluorescent), nucleic acids, complexing agents, or catalysts such as enzymes (e.g., alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, horseradish peroxidase, beta-galactosidase, and ribonuclease). In the case of enzyme use, addition of chromo-, fluoro-, or lumo-genic substrate results in generation of a detectable signal. Other detection systems such as time-resolved fluorescence, internal-reflection fluorescence, amplification (e.g., polymerase chain reaction) and Raman spectroscopy are also useful.

There are two general formats commonly used to monitor specific antibody titer and type in humans: (1) antigen is presented on a solid phase, as described above, the human biological fluid containing the specific antibodies is allowed to react with the antigen, and then antibody bound to antigen is detected with an anti-human antibody coupled to a signal generating compound and (2) an anti-human antibody is bound to the solid phase, the human biological fluid containing specific antibodies is allowed to react with the bound antibody, and then antigen attached to a signal generating compound is added to detect specific antibody present in the fluid sample. In both formats, the anti-human antibody reagent may recognize all antibody classes, or alternatively, be specific for a particular class or subclass of antibody, depending upon the intended purpose of the assay. These assays formats as well as other known formats are intended to be within the scope of the present invention and are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

In particular, two illustrative examples of an immunometric antibody-capture based immunoassay are the IMx Toxo IgM and Toxo IgG antibody assays manufactured by Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, Ill.). Both assays are automated Microparticle Enzyme Immunoassays (MEIA) which measure antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) in human serum or plasma (Safford et al. (1991) J. Clin. Pathol. 44:238-242). One assay qualitatively measures IgM antibodies, indicative of recent exposure or acute infection, and the other assay quantitatively measures IgG, indicative of chronic or past infection. These assays use microparticles coated with T. gondii antigens as the solid phase. In particular, specimen is added to the coated microparticles to allow antibodies specific for T. gondii to bind. Subsequently, an alkaline phosphatase conjugated anti-human IgM (or anti-human IgG) is added that specifically binds to IgM (or IgG) class antibodies complexed to the T. gondii antigens. Following addition of a suitable substrate (e.g., 4-methyumbelliferyl phosphate), the rate of enzyme-catalyzed turnover is monitored based upon fluorescence.

The mixture of genetically engineered P30 and P35 may be used in the IgG Abbott immunoassay, and the genetically engineered P30 antigen alone may be utilized in the IgM Abbott immunoassay. Additionally, a mixture of genetically engineered P30 and P35 may be utilized in either assay, if desired. Furthermore, it must be noted that other non-Abbott assays or platforms may also be utilized, with each antigen or combination of antigens for purposes of the present invention.

Thus, the present invention includes a method of detecting IgM antibodies in a test sample comprising the steps of: (a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing the IgM antibodies with genetically engineered P30; (b) detecting the presence of IgM antibodies present in the test sample. More specifically, the present invention includes a method of detecting IgM antibodies in a test sample comprising the steps of: (a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing the IgM antibodies with genetically engineered P30 for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the formation of IgM antibody/antigen complexes; (b) adding a conjugate to the resulting IgM antibody/antigen complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the conjugate to bind to the bound antibody, the conjugate comprising an antibody (directed against the IgM) attached to a signal generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal; (c) detecting the presence of the IgM antibody which may be present in the test sample by detecting the signal generated by the signal generating compound. A control or calibrator may also be used which binds to this antigen. Furthermore, the method may also comprise the use of P35 in addition to genetically engineered P30.

Additionally, the present invention further includes a method for detecting the presence of IgM which may be present in a test sample. This method comprises the steps of: (a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing IgM antibodies with anti-antibody specific for the IgM, for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow for formation of anti-antibody/IgM complexes and (b) detecting the presence of IgM which may be present in the test sample. (Such anti-antibodies are commercially available and may be created, for example, by immunizing a mammal with purified mu-chain of the antibody.)

More specifically, this method may comprise the steps of: (a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing the IgM antibodies with anti-antibody specific for the IgM, under time and conditions sufficient to allow the formation of anti-antibody/IgM complexes; (b) adding a conjugate to the resulting anti-antibody/IgM complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the conjugate to bind to the bound antibody, the conjugate comprising genetically engineered P30 attached to a signal generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal; and (c) detecting the presence of the IgM antibodies which may be present in the test sample by detecting the signal generated by the signal generating compound. A control or calibrator may be used which comprises antibody to the anti-antibody. Furthermore, the conjugate may also comprise P35, if desired.

In each of the above assays, IgG may be detected by substituting the genetically engineered P30 with a genetically engineered P30 and P35 mixture. Also, anti-antibody specific for IgG will be used. Additionally, if one wishes to detect both IgM and IgG antibodies, genetically engineered P30 and P35 may be utilized in the immunoassay.

The present invention also encompasses a third method for detecting the presence of IgM in a test sample. This method comprises the steps of: (a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing IgM antibodies with anti-antibody specific for the IgM, under time and conditions sufficient to allow the formation of anti-antibody IgM complexes; (b) adding antigen to the resulting anti-antibody/IgM complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the antigen to bind to the bound IgM antibody, the antigen comprising the genetically engineered P30; and (c) adding a conjugate to the resulting anti-antibody/IgM/antigen complexes, the conjugate comprising a composition comprising monoclonal or polyclonal antibody attached to a signal generating compound capable of detecting a detectable signal, the monoclonal or polyclonal antibody being directed against the antigen; and (d) detecting the presence of the IgM antibodies which may be present in the test sample by detecting the signal generated by the signal generating compound. Again, a control or calibrator may be used which comprises antibody to the anti-antibody. The antigen mixture may further comprise P35, if desired.

In this method, IgG may be detected by substituting the genetically engineered P30 antigen with a genetically engineered P30 and P35 mixture, and utilizing anti-antibody specific for IgG. However, if one wishes to detect both IgM and IgG antibodies, genetically engineered P30 and P35 may be utilized in the immunoassay.

It should also be noted that all of the above methods may be used to detect IgA antibodies (with an alpha-specific conjugate) and/or IgE antibodies (with an epsilon-specific conjugate) should such detection be desired.

Additionally, the present invention also includes a vaccine comprising a mixture of genetically engineered P30 and P35 antigens and a pharmaceutically acceptable adjuvant. Such a vaccine may be administered if one desires to raise IgG antibodies in a mammal. The present invention also includes a vaccine comprising the genetically engineered P30 antigen and a pharmaceutically acceptable adjuvant (e.g., Freund's adjuvant or Phosphate Buffered Saline). Such a vaccine may be administered if one desires to raise IgM antibodies in a mammal. Additionally, the present invention also includes a vaccine comprising a mixture of genetically engineered P30 and P35 antigens as well as a pharmaceutically acceptable adjuvant. This vaccine should be administered if one desires to raise both IgM and IgG antibodies in a mammal.

Kits are also included within the scope of the present invention. More specifically, the present invention includes kits for determining the presence of IgG and/or IgM. In particular, a kit for determining the presence of IgM in a test sample comprises a) genetically engineered P30; and b) a conjugate comprising an antibody (directed against IgM) attached to a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal. The kit may also contain a control or calibrator which comprises a reagent which binds to genetically engineered P30.

Again, if one desires to detect IgG, rather than IgM, the kit will comprise a mixture of genetically engineered P30 and P35, rather than genetically engineered P30, as well as an antibody directed against IgG. If one wishes to detect both IgM and IgG, the kit will comprise genetically engineered P30 and P35.

The present invention also includes another type of kit for detecting IgM and/or IgG in a test sample. If utilized for detecting the presence of IgM, the kit may comprise a) an anti-antibody specific for IgM, and b) genetically engineered P30. A control or calibrator comprising a reagent which binds to genetically engineered P30 may also be included. More specifically, the kit may comprise a) an anti-antibody specific for IgM, and b) a conjugate comprising genetically engineered P30, the conjugate being attached to a signal-generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal. Again, the kit may also comprise a control or calibrator comprising a reagent which binds to genetically engineered P30.

Additionally, if one desires to detect IgG, rather than IgM, the kit will comprise a mixture of genetically engineered P30 and P35, rather than genetically engineered P30 alone, as well as anti-antibody specific for IgG. If one wishes to detect both IgM and IgG, the kit may comprise genetically engineered P30 and P35.

The present invention may be illustrated by the use of the following non-limiting examples:

EXAMPLE 1 General Methodology Materials and Sources

Restriction enzymes, T4 DNA ligase, and the pMAL™ Protein Fusion and Purification System were purchased from New England Biolabs, Inc. (Beverly, Mass.).

DNA and protein molecular weight standards, plasmid mini-prep kit, ethidium bromide, and pre-cast polyacrylamide gels, were purchased from BioRad Laboratories (Richmond, Calif.).

Maltose was purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, Mo.).

QIAquick PCR Purification Kit and QIAquick Gel Extraction Kit were purchased from Qiagen, Inc. (Valencia, Calif.).

Synthetic oligonucleotides were purchased from Sigma Genosys (The Woodlands, Tex.).

EPICURIAN Coli™ XL-1 BLUE (recA1 endA1 gyrA96 thi-1 hsdR17 supE44 relA1 lac [F′ proAB lacI^(q) ZDM15 Tn10 (Tet^(r))]) supercompetent E. coli cells were obtained from Stratagene Cloning Systems, Inc. (La Jolla, Calif.).

A GeneAmp™ reagent kit and AmpliTaq™ DNA Polymerase were purchased from Perkin-Elmer Cetus (Norwalk, Conn.).

SeaKem GTG agarose was purchased from BioWhittaker Molecular Applications (Rockland, Me.).

Bacto-Tryptone, Bacto-Yeast Extract, Bacto-Agar ampicillin, buffers, isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactoside (IPTG), bovine serum albumin (BSA), Sephacryl S-300, fetal calf serum (Toxo antibody free), sucrose, sodium azide, urea, EDTA, Triton X-100, 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDAC), 2-(N-moropholino)ethanesulfonic acid (MES), inorganic salts, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), Tween 20, glycerol, 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate (MUP), tris-(hydroxymethyl)-aminomethane (Tris), AxSYM Toxo IgG and IgM assay reagents, calibrators, and controls, sulfate-derivatized microparticles, non-fat dry milk, Nipasept, A56620, Brij-35, mouse serum, mannitol, AxSYM instrument, reagents, and commodities were purchased from Abbott Manufacturing, Inc. (Abbott Park, Ill.).

Media, Buffers and General Reagents

“Superbroth II” contained 11.25 g/L tryptone, 22.5 g/L yeast extract, 11.4 g/L potassium phosphate dibasic, 1.7 g/L potassium phosphate monobasic, 10 ml/L glycerol, adjusted pH to 7.2 with sodium hydroxide.

General Methods

All enzyme digestions of DNA were performed according to suppliers' instructions. At least 5 units of enzyme were used per microgram of DNA, and sufficient incubation time was allowed for complete digestion of DNA. Supplier protocols were followed for the various kits used in the manipulation of DNA and transformation of DNA into E. coli, for polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and for purification of maltose binding protein (MBP) and MBP fusion proteins. Standard procedures were used for preparation of E. coli lysates containing CMP-KDO synthetase (CKS) (U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,157 B1), restriction analysis of DNA on agarose gels, purification of DNA fragments from agarose gels, and ligation of DNA fragments with T4 DNA ligase. (Maniatis et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2^(nd) ed. (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York, 1989)). DNA sequence analysis was performed by Lark Technologies, Inc. (Houston, Tex.).

EXAMPLE 2 Construction of pMBP-ToxoP30 Expression Vectors

In order to improve the immunoreactivity of the Toxo antigen cocktails described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,157 B1 in an immunoassay, a suitable heterologous protein expression system was pursued that would permit the production of soluble Toxo P30 in E. coli. The E. coli maltose binding protein (MBP) fusion and purification system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,758 has been found to be useful for the production and purification of soluble fusion proteins in E. coli. (In particular, the vectors described therein have sequences coding for the recognition site of a specific protease (e.g., Factor Xa, enterokinase or Genenase™) such that the protein of interest may be cleaved from MBP.) Fusion of proteins to MBP enhances their solubility in E. coli (Kapust and Waugh (1999) Protein Science 8, 1668-1674). Several different constructs were made taking into consideration the observation that native Toxo P30 is post-translationally cleaved prior to insertion into the tachyzoite membrane (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591). The exact cleavage sites for Toxo P30 are unknown.

Plasmid pToxo-P30 described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,157 B1 was used as template DNA for a series of PCR reactions to generate DNA fragments containing different portions of the Toxo P30 gene. The pToxo-P30 plasmid DNA was prepared using standard methods. The pMAL-c2X (cytoplasmic expression vector) and pMAL-p2X (periplasmic expression vector) plasmids were purchased from New England Biolabs, Beverly Mass. and were digested with the restriction enzymes EcoRI and HindIII in preparation for subcloning the Toxo P30 gene fragments.

Step A: Construction of pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa)

The plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa) was constructed by cloning a DNA fragment containing Toxo P30, obtained by PCR amplification of Toxo P30 DNA contained in plasmid pToxo-P30, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 1). Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the vector backbone was purified with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit. A sense primer, starting at nucleotide 464 of the P30 gene containing an EcoRI site and an antisense primer containing a HindIII site, starting at nucleotide 1318 of the P30 gene (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591) were synthesized as shown below:

Sense Primer [SEQ ID NO:1] 5′-GGCGAATTCCTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACC-3′ (EcoRI site is underlined) Antisense Primer [SEQ ID NO:2] 5′-CGCTGAAGCTTTCACGCGACACAAGCTGCGA-3′ (HindIII site is underlined) The sense and antisense primers were added to a PCR reaction mixture containing plasmid pToxo-P30. After PCR amplification and purification of the reaction mixture with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit, the reaction mixture was digested with EcoRI and HindIII, and the 855 base pair DNA fragment containing Toxo P30 was purified with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit. The purified 855 base pair fragment was ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa) contained the Toxo P30 gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X. The complete DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:3] of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa) is shown in FIG. 2 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:4] of the MBP-ToxoP30(52-336aa) fusion protein is also shown in FIG. 2, wherein amino acid residues 392-676 of SEQ ID NO:4 correspond to amino acids 52-336 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii. The DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:5] of ToxoP30(52-336aa) is shown in FIG. 3, and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:6] of the ToxoP30(52-336aa) protein is also shown in FIG. 3, wherein amino acid residues 1-285 of SEQ ID NO:6 correspond to amino acids 52-336 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii. Step B: Construction of pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa)

The plasmid pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa) was constructed by cloning a DNA fragment containing Toxo P30, obtained by PCR amplification of Toxo P30 DNA contained in plasmid pToxo-P30, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-p2X (FIG. 4). Plasmid pMAL-p2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII, and the vector backbone was purified with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit. A sense primer, starting at nucleotide 464 of the P30 gene containing an EcoRI site, and an antisense primer containing a HindIII site, starting at nucleotide 1318 of the P30 gene (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591) were synthesized as shown below:

Sense Primer [SEQ ID NO:1] 5′-GGCGAATTCCTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACC-3′ (EcoRI site is underlined) Antisense Primer [SEQ ID NO:2] 5′-CGCTGAAGCTTTCACGCGACACAAGCTGCGA-3′ (HindIII site is underlined) The sense and antisense primers were added to a PCR reaction mixture containing plasmid pToxo-P30. After PCR amplification and purification of the reaction mixture with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit, the reaction mixture was digested with EcoRI and HindIII, and the 855 base pair DNA fragment containing Toxo P30 was purified with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit. The purified 855 base pair fragment was ligated to pMAL-p2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa) contained the Toxo P30 gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-p2X. The complete DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:7] of plasmid pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa) is shown in FIG. 5, and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:8] of the MBP-ToxoP30P(52-336aa) fusion protein is shown in FIG. 5, wherein amino acid residues 417-701 of SEQ ID NO:8 correspond to amino acids 52-336 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii. Step C: Construction of pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa)

The plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1(52-324aa), an intermediate in the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C, was constructed by cloning a DNA fragment containing Toxo P30, obtained by PCR amplification of Toxo P30 DNA contained in plasmid pToxo-P30, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 6). Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the vector backbone was purified on an agarose gel. A sense primer, starting at nucleotide 464 of the P30 gene containing an EcoRI site and an antisense primer containing a HindIII site, starting at nucleotide 1282 of the P30 gene (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591) were synthesized as shown below:

Sense Primer [SEQ ID NO:1] 5′-GGCGAATTCCTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACC-3′ (EcoRI site is underlined) Antisense Primer [SEQ ID NO:9] 5′-CAGGTCAAGCTTTCACACCATGGCAAAAATGGAAACGTG-3′ (HindIII site is underlined.) The sense and antisense primers were added to a PCR reaction mixture containing plasmid pToxo-P30. After PCR amplification and purification of the reaction mixture with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit, the reaction mixture was digested with EcoRI and HindIII, and the 819 base pair DNA fragment containing Toxo P30del1 was purified on an agarose gel. The purified 819 base pair fragment was ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1(52-324aa) contained the Toxo P30del1 gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X.

Analysis of the DNA sequence of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1(52-324aa) and analysis of the corresponding amino acid sequence revealed base changes in the P30 gene resulting in two amino acid changes from the published sequence (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591). These mutations were located downstream of the synthetic EcoRI site (nucleotide 464) and upstream of a BanI site (nucleotide 1100) following the numbering convention of Burg et al., cited above. The mutations in plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1(52-324aa) were corrected as follows: Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa) was constructed by cloning an EcoRI/BanI fragment from plasmid pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa), containing the 5′ corrected portion of the Toxo P30 gene, and a BanI/HindIII fragment from plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1(52-324aa), containing the 3′ portion of the Toxo P30del1 gene, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 7). Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII, and the vector backbone was purified on an agarose gel. Plasmid DNAs pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa) and pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1(52-324aa) were prepared by general methods. Plasmids pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa) and pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1(52-324aa) were digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the 855 and 819 base pair fragments, containing the Toxo P30 gene, were purified on an agarose gel. The 855 base pair EcoRI/HindIII fragment was digested with BanI and the 637 base pair EcoRI/BanI fragment, containing the 5′ corrected portion of the Toxo P30 gene, was purified on an agarose gel. The 819 base pair EcoRI/HindIII fragment was digested with BanI and the 182 base pair BanI/HindIII fragment, containing the 3′ portion of the Toxo P30del1 gene, was purified on an agarose gel. The purified 637 and 182 base pair fragments were ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C (52-324aa) contained the Toxo P30del1C gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X. The complete DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:10] of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa) is shown in FIG. 8 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:11] of the MBP-ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa) fusion protein is also shown in FIG. 8, wherein amino acid residues 392-664 of SEQ ID NO:11 correspond to amino acids 52-324 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii. The DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:12] of ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa) is shown in FIG. 9 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:13] of the ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa) protein is also shown in FIG. 9, wherein amino acid residues 1-273 of SEQ ID NO:13 correspond to amino acids 52-324 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii.

Step D: Construction of pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del2(52-311aa)

The plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del2(52-311aa) was constructed by cloning a DNA fragment containing Toxo P30, obtained by PCR amplification of Toxo P30 DNA contained in plasmid pToxo-P30, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 10). Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the vector backbone was purified on an agarose gel. A sense primer, starting at nucleotide 464 of the P30 gene containing an EcoRI site, and an antisense primer containing a HindIII site, starting at nucleotide 1243 of the P30 gene (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591) were synthesized as shown below:

Sense Primer [SEQ ID NO:1] 5′-GGCGAATTCCTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACC-3′ (EcoRI site is underlined) Antisense Primer [SEQ ID NO:14] 5′-CAGGTCAAGCTTTCAAGCCGATTTTGCTGACCCTGCAGCCC-3′ (HindIII site is underlined.) The sense and antisense primers were added to a PCR reaction mixture containing plasmid pToxo-P30. After PCR amplification and purification of the reaction mixture with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit, the reaction mixture was digested with EcoRI and HindIII, and the 780 base pair DNA fragment containing Toxo P30del2 was purified on an agarose gel. The purified 780 base pair fragment was ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del2(52-311aa) contained the Toxo P30del2 gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of PMAL-c2X. The complete DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:15] of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del2(52-311aa) is shown in FIG. 11, and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:16] of the MBP-ToxoP30del2(52-311aa) fusion protein is also shown in FIG. 11, wherein amino acid residues 392-651 of SEQ ID NO:16 correspond to amino acids 52-311 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii. The DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:17] of ToxoP30del2(52-311aa) is shown in FIG. 12 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:18] of the ToxoP30del2(52-311aa) protein is also shown in FIG. 12, wherein amino acid residues 1-260 of SEQ ID NO:18 correspond to amino acids 52-311 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii. Step E: Construction of pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa)

The plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3(52-300aa), an intermediate in the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa), was constructed by cloning a DNA fragment containing Toxo P30, obtained by PCR amplification of Toxo P30 DNA contained in plasmid pToxo-P30, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 13). Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII, and the vector backbone was purified on an agarose gel. A sense primer, starting at nucleotide 464 of the P30 gene containing an EcoRI site, and an antisense primer containing a HindIII site, starting at nucleotide 1210 of the P30 gene (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591) were synthesized as shown below:

Sense Primer [SEQ ID NO:1] 5′-GGCGAATTCCTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACC-3′ (EcoRI site is underlined) Antisense Primer [SEQ ID NO:19] 5′-CAGGTCAAGCTTTCACTCCAGTTTCACGGTACAGTG-3′ (HindIII site is underlined.) The sense and antisense primers were added to a PCR reaction mixture containing plasmid pToxo-P30. After PCR amplification and purification of the reaction mixture with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit, the reaction mixture was digested with EcoRI and HindIII, and the 747 base pair DNA fragment containing Toxo P30del3 was purified on an agarose gel. The purified 747 base pair fragment was ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3(52-300aa) contained the Toxo P30del3 gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X.

Analysis of the DNA sequence of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3(52-300aa) and analysis of the corresponding amino acid sequence revealed a single base change in the P30 gene that resulted in the substitution of an amino acid for a stop codon, leading to premature chain termination of the P30 protein. This mutation was located downstream of the synthetic EcoRI site (nucleotide 464) and upstream of a BanI site (nucleotide 1100) following the numbering convention of Burg et al. The mutation in plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3(52-300aa) was corrected as follows:

Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) was constructed by cloning an EcoRI/BanI fragment from plasmid pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa), containing the 5′ corrected portion of the Toxo P30 gene, and a BanI/HindIII fragment from plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3(52-300aa), containing the 3′ portion of the Toxo P30del3 gene, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 14). Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) was deposited with the ATCC 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, Va. 20110-2209, under terms of the Budapest Treaty on Sep. 26, 2002, and was accorded Accession No. ATCC 4722.

Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the vector backbone was purified on an agarose gel. Plasmid DNAs pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa) and pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3(52-300aa) were prepared by general methods. Plasmids pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa) and pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3(52-300aa) were digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the 855 and 747 base pair fragments, containing the Toxo P30 gene, were purified on an agarose gel. The 855 base pair EcoRI/HindIII fragment was digested with BanI and the 637 base pair EcoRI/BanI fragment, containing the 5′ corrected portion of the Toxo P30 gene, was purified on an agarose gel. The 747 base pair EcoRI/HindIII fragment was digested with BanI and the 110 base pair BanI/HindIII fragment, containing the 3′ portion of the Toxo P30del3 gene, was purified on an agarose gel. The purified 637 and 110 base pair fragments were ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C (52-300aa) contained the ToxoP30del3C gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X. The complete DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:20] of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) is shown in FIG. 15 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:21] of the MBP-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) fusion protein is also shown in FIG. 15, wherein amino acid residues 392-640 of SEQ ID NO:21 correspond to amino acids 52-300 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii. The DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:22] of ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) is shown in FIG. 16 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:23] of the ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) protein is also shown in FIG. 16, wherein amino acid residues 1-249 of SEQ ID NO:23 correspond to amino acids 52-300 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii.

Step F: Construction of pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa)

The plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4(52-294aa), an intermediate in the construction of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa), was constructed by cloning a DNA fragment containing Toxo P30, obtained by PCR amplification of Toxo P30 DNA contained in plasmid pToxo-P30, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 17). Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the vector backbone was purified on an agarose gel. A sense primer, starting at nucleotide 464 of the P30 gene containing an EcoRI site, and an antisense primer containing a HindIII site, starting at nucleotide 1192 of the P30 gene (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591) were synthesized as shown below:

Sense Primer [SEQ ID NO:1] 5′-GGCGAATTCCTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACC-3′ (EcoRI site is underlined) Antisense Primer [SEQ ID NO:24] 5′-CAGGTCAAGCTTTCAGTGATGCTTCTCAGGCGATCCCC-3′ (HindIII site is underlined) The sense and antisense primers were added to a PCR reaction mixture containing plasmid pToxo-P30. After PCR amplification and purification of the reaction mixture with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit, the reaction mixture was digested with EcoRI and HindIII, and the 729 base pair DNA fragment containing Toxo P30del4 was purified on an agarose gel. The purified 729 base pair fragment was ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4(52-294aa) contained the Toxo P30del4 gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X.

Analysis of the DNA sequence of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4(52-294aa) and analysis of the corresponding amino acid sequence revealed base changes in the P30 gene resulting in two amino acid changes from the published sequence (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591). These mutations were located downstream of the synthetic EcoRI site (nucleotide 464) and upstream of a BanI site (nucleotide 1100) following the numbering convention of Burg et al. The mutations in plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4(52-294aa) were corrected as follows:

Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) was constructed by cloning an EcoRI/BanI fragment from plasmid pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa), containing the 5′ corrected portion of the Toxo P30 gene, and a BanI/HindIII fragment from plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4(52-294aa), containing the 3′ portion of the ToxoP30del4 gene, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 18). Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) was deposited with the ATCC 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, Va. 20110-2209, under terms of the Budapest Treaty on Sep. 26, 2002, and was accorded Accession No. ATCC 4723.

Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the vector backbone was purified on an agarose gel. Plasmid DNAs pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa) and pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4(52-294aa) were prepared by general methods. Plasmids pMBP-p2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa) and pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4(52-294aa) were digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the 855 and 729 base pair fragments, containing the Toxo P30 gene, were purified on an agarose gel. The 855 base pair EcoRI/HindIII fragment was digested with BanI and the 637 base pair EcoRI/BanI fragment, containing the 5′ corrected portion of the Toxo P30 gene, was purified on an agarose gel. The 729 base pair EcoRI/HindIII fragment was digested with BanI and the 92 base pair BanI/HindIII fragment, containing the 3′ portion of the Toxo P30del4 gene and purified on an agarose gel. The purified 637 and 92 base pair fragments were ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C (52-294aa) contained the Toxo P30del4C gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X. The complete DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:25] of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) is shown in FIG. 19 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:26] of the MBP-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) fusion protein is also shown in FIG. 19, wherein amino acid residues 392-634 of SEQ ID NO:26 correspond to amino acids 52-294 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii. The DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:27] of ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) is shown in FIG. 20 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:28] of the ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) protein is also shown in FIG. 20, wherein amino acid residues 1-243 of SEQ ID NO:28 correspond to amino acids 52-294 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii.

Step G: Construction of pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa)

The plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa) was constructed by cloning a DNA fragment containing Toxo P30, obtained by PCR amplification of Toxo P30 DNA contained in plasmid pToxo-P30, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 21). Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the vector backbone was purified on an agarose gel. A sense primer, starting at nucleotide 557 of the P30 gene containing an EcoRI site, and an antisense primer containing a HindIII site, starting at nucleotide 1192 of the P30 gene (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591) were synthesized as shown below:

Sense Primer [SEQ ID NO:29] 5′-GGCGAATTCCCTAAAACAGCGCTCACAGAG-3′ (EcoRI site is underlined.) Antisense Primer [SEQ ID NO:24] 5′-CAGGTCAAGCTTTCAGTGATGCTTCTCAGGCGATCCCC-3′ (HindIII site is underlined.) The sense and antisense primers were added to a PCR reaction mixture containing plasmid pToxo-P30. After PCR amplification and purification of the reaction mixture with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit, the reaction mixture was digested with EcoRI and HindIII, and the 636 base pair DNA fragment containing Toxo P30del4del8 was purified on an agarose gel. The purified 636 base pair fragment was ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa) contained the ToxoP30del4del8 gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X. The complete DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:30] of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa) is shown in FIG. 22 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:31] of the MBP-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa) fusion protein is also shown in FIG. 22, wherein amino acid residues 392-603 of SEQ ID NO:31 correspond to amino acids 83-294 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii. The DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:32] of ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa) is shown in FIG. 23 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:33] of the ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa) protein is also shown in FIG. 23, wherein amino acid residues 1-212 of SEQ ID NO:33 correspond to amino acids 83-294 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii. Step H: Construction of pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa)

The plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) was constructed by cloning a DNA fragment containing Toxo P30, obtained by PCR amplification of Toxo P30 DNA contained in plasmid pToxo-P30, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 24). Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the vector backbone was purified on an agarose gel. A sense primer, starting at nucleotide 464 of the P30 gene containing an EcoRI site, and an antisense primer containing a HindIII site, starting at nucleotide 1162 of the P30 gene (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591) were synthesized as shown below:

Sense Primer [SEQ ID NO:1] 5′-GGCGAATTCCTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACC-3′ (EcoRI site is underlined) Antisense Primer [SEQ ID NO:34] 5′-CAGGTCAAGCTTTCATCCAATAATGACGCTTTTTGACTC-3′ (HindIII site is underlined.) The sense and antisense primers were added to a PCR reaction mixture containing plasmid pToxo-P30. After PCR amplification and purification of the reaction mixture with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit, the reaction mixture was digested with EcoRI and HindIII, and the 699 base pair DNA fragment containing Toxo P30del10 was purified on an agarose gel. The purified 699 base pair fragment was ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) contained the Toxo P30del10 gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X. The complete DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:35] of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) is shown in FIG. 25 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:36] of the MBP-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) fusion protein is also shown in FIG. 25, wherein amino acid residues 392-624 of SEQ ID NO:36 correspond to amino acids 52-284 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii, with the exception that amino acid residue 546 of SEQ ID NO:36 is glycine instead of glutamic acid. The DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:37] of ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) is shown in FIG. 26 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:38] of the ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) protein is also shown in FIG. 26, wherein amino acid residues 1-233 of SEQ ID NO:38 correspond to amino acids 52-284 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii, with the exception that amino acid residue 155 of SEQ ID NO:38 is glycine instead of glutamic acid. Step I: Construction of pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa)

The plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) was constructed by cloning a DNA fragment containing Toxo P30, obtained by PCR amplification of Toxo P30 DNA contained in plasmid pToxo-P30, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 27). Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the vector backbone was purified on an agarose gel. A sense primer, starting at nucleotide 464 of the P30 gene containing an EcoRI site, and an antisense primer containing a HindIII site, starting at nucleotide 952 of the P30 gene (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591) were synthesized as shown below:

Sense Primer [SEQ ID NO:1] 5′-GGCGAATTCCTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACC-3′ (EcoRI site is underlined.) Antisense Primer [SEQ ID NO:39] 5′-CAGGTCAAGCTTTCACACGAGGGTCATTGTAGTGGG-3′ (HindIII site is underlined.) The sense and antisense primers were added to a PCR reaction mixture containing plasmid pToxo-P30. After PCR amplification and purification of the reaction mixture with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit, the reaction mixture was digested with EcoRI and HindIII, and the 489 base pair DNA fragment containing Toxo P30del11 was purified on an agarose gel. The purified 489 base pair fragment was ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) contained the Toxo P30del11 gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X. The complete DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:40] of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) is shown in FIG. 28 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:41] of the MBP-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) fusion protein is also shown in FIG. 28, wherein amino acid residues 392-554 of SEQ ID NO:41 correspond to amino acids 52-214 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii. The DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:42] of ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) is shown in FIG. 29 and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:43] of the ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) protein is also shown in FIG. 29, wherein amino acid residues 1-163 of SEQ ID NO:43 correspond to amino acids 52-214 of the P30 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii.

EXAMPLE 3 Expression of rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 Antigens in E. coli

Step A: Expression of Cloned Genes in E. coli Bacterial clones pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa), pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa), pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del2(52-311aa), pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa), pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa), pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa), pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) and pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) expressing the MBP fusion proteins rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del2(52-311aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) and rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) of Example 2 were grown in “SUPERBROTH II” media containing 100 μg/ml ampicillin to log phase, and the synthesis of the MBP-ToxoP30 fusion proteins was induced by the addition of IPTG as previously described (Robinson et al. (1993) J. Clin. Microbiol. 31:629-635). After 4 hours post-induction, the cells were harvested, and the cell pellets were stored at −80° C. until protein purification occurred.

Step B: Purification of MBP-ToxoP30 Fusion Proteins

Soluble fusion proteins rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del2(52-311aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) and rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) were purified after lysis from cell paste following the New England Biolabs pMAL Protein Fusion and Purification instruction manual. Following lysis and centrifugation, the crude supernatants containing the fusion proteins were loaded onto an amylose affinity column. Following washing of the column, the fusion proteins were eluted from the column with maltose, appropriate column fractions were pooled and filtered through a 0.2μ filter, and then stored at 2-8° C. until coating onto microparticles.

EXAMPLE 4 Evaluation of rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 Antigens in an Automated Toxo IgG and IgM Immunoassay

Step A: Coating of rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 Antigens onto Microparticles

Prior to coating microparticles, the rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del2(52-311aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) and rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) antigens were diluted to a concentration of 1 mg/ml and incubated at 37° C. for 24 hours. Following the heat treatment step, the rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 antigens were coated separately onto sulfate-derivatized polystyrene microparticles (1-5% solids) in a vessel containing MES pH 6.2 buffer with EDAC for 30 minutes at room temperature, on an end over end rotator. The coated microparticles were then collected by centrifugation at 14,000×g for 10 minutes, and the supernatant was discarded. The microparticles were resuspended in a microparticle storage buffer containing Tris buffer, pH 7.5, EDTA, sodium chloride, Tween 20, fetal calf serum (Toxo antibody free), sodium azide, and sucrose using a syringe and needle. The microparticles were then diluted with microparticle storage buffer to a final concentration of 0.1-0.3% solids and filled into plastic bottles.

Step B: Description of the AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 Reagent Pack, Calibrators, Controls, Panel 6, and Assay Diskette

The reagent pack for the automated AxSYM Toxo IgG v2 assay is designed for the detection of human anti-Toxo IgG and consists of the following components. Bottle number one contains microparticles coated with purified recombinant Toxo antigens (Example 4A) in a microparticle storage buffer. In order to prevent human anti-MBP or anti-CKS antibodies causing a false positive reaction in the assay, purified MBP or CKS can be added to the microparticle storage buffer. Bottle number two contains the preferred conjugate, a goat anti-human IgG alkaline phosphatase conjugate. This conjugate is titered to determine a working concentration of 0.1-5 μg/ml. The conjugate is diluted into a conjugate diluent containing Tris buffer, pH 7.4, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and zinc chloride, Nipasept, A56620, non-fat dry milk, Brij-35, mouse serum, and mannitol. Bottle number three contains the preferred assay diluent to minimize non-specific binding to the microparticles and assay matrix. This assay diluent consists of a Tris buffer, pH 7.5 containing sodium chloride, sodium EDTA, non-fat dry milk, Nipasept, A56620, and Tween 20. Bottle number four contains a phosphate buffer line diluent.

Six Assay Calibrators labeled A-F are derived from Toxo IgG positive plasma pools or human anti-Toxo IgG monoclonal antibodies and are required to calibrate the AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 assay. These calibrators are matched to calibrators previously matched to the TOX-S WHO International Standard. The concentration range of these calibrators is 0-300 IU/ml. Positive and Negative controls are required to evaluate the assay calibration and establish assay validity. The Positive Control is prepared from Toxo IgG positive plasma pools or human anti-Toxo IgG monoclonal antibodies. The Negative Control is prepared from Toxo IgG negative plasma pools. Panel 6 is a pool of Toxo IgG and IgM positive plasma units derived from blood donors with an acute toxoplasmosis.

The assay diskette for the AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 assay contains the assay protocol software necessary to run the automated immunoassay on the Abbott “AxSYM®” instrument (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.). In addition to the AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 Reagent Pack, assay Calibrators, and Controls described above, the following assay components located on the instrument are required to run the assay: Sample Cups, AxSYM® Line Diluent, MEIA buffer, Reaction Vessels, MUP, and Matrix Cells. The sequence of events for the automated assay are as follows: The pipetting probe in the kitting center delivers the patient sample and line diluent to the reaction vessel sample well; the pipetting probe then kits the appropriate volumes of assay diluent, line diluent, and conjugate required for the assay from the reagent pack into the designated reaction vessel wells; this probe then delivers the recombinant Toxo antigen coated microparticles from the reagent pack and an aliquot of the diluted sample to the designated reaction vessel well; the reaction vessel is then transferred to the process carousel; Toxo-specific antibodies bind to the Toxo recombinant antigen coated microparticles forming an antigen-antibody complex; assay diluent is added to the reaction mixture and matrix cell and then an aliquot of the reaction mixture is transferred to the glass fiber matrix in the auxiliary carousel; the microparticles bind irreversibly to the matrix; the matrix is washed with MEIA buffer and line diluent to remove unbound antibodies; goat anti-human IgG alkaline phosphate conjugate is added to the matrix and binds to the Toxo-specific IgG captured by the Toxo recombinant antigens; the matrix is then washed with MEIA buffer to remove any unbound enzyme-antibody conjugate; the enzyme substrate MUP is added to the matrix; the alkaline phosphatase enzyme present on the matrix attached to the goat anti-human IgG catalyzes the hydrolysis of the phosphoryl moiety from MUP, producing a highly fluorescent product which is measured by the AxSYM MEIA optical system; the signal intensity (rate counts) is proportional to the amount of Toxo-specific IgG antibodies present in the sample.

Step C: Description of the AxSYM Toxo® IgM v2 Reagent Pack, Index Calibrator, Controls, and Assay Diskette

The reagent pack for the automated AxSYM Toxo IgM v2 assay is designed for the detection of human anti-Toxo IgM and consists of the following components. Bottle number one contains microparticles coated with purified recombinant Toxo antigens (Example 4A) in a microparticle storage buffer. In order to prevent human anti-MBP or anti-CKS antibodies causing a false positive reaction in the assay, purified MBP or CKS can be added to the microparticle storage buffer. Bottle number two contains the preferred conjugate, a goat anti-human IgM alkaline phosphatase conjugate. This conjugate is titered to determine a working concentration of 0.1-5 μg/ml. The conjugate is diluted into a conjugate diluent containing Tris buffer, pH 7.4, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and zinc chloride, Nipasept, A56620, non-fat dry milk, Brij-35, mouse serum, and mannitol. Bottle number three contains the preferred assay diluent to minimize non-specific binding to the microparticles and assay matrix. This assay diluent consists of a Tris buffer, pH 7.5 containing sodium chloride, sodium EDTA, non-fat dry milk, Nipasept, A56620, and Tween 20. Bottle number four contains either phosphate buffer line diluent or RF Neutralization Buffer.

The Index Calibrator is derived from Toxo IgM positive plasma pools or human anti-Toxo IgM monoclonal antibodies and is required to calibrate the AxSYM® Toxo IgM v2 assay. Positive and Negative controls are required to evaluate the assay calibration and establish assay validity. The Positive Control is prepared from Toxo IgM positive plasma pools or human anti-Toxo IgM monoclonal antibodies. The Negative Control is prepared from Toxo IgM negative plasma pools.

The assay diskette for the AxSYM® Toxo IgM v2 assay contains the assay protocol software necessary to run the automated immunoassay on the Abbott “AxSYM” instrument (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.). In addition to the AxSYM® Toxo IgM v2 Reagent Pack, Index Calibrator, and Controls described above, the following assay components located on the instrument are required to run the assay: Sample Cups, AxSYM® Line Diluent, MEIA buffer, Reaction Vessels, MUP, and Matrix Cells. The sequence of events for the automated assay are as follows: The pipetting probe in the kitting center delivers the patient sample and line diluent to the reaction vessel sample well; the pipetting probe then kits the appropriate volumes of assay diluent, line diluent or RF Neutralization Buffer, and conjugate required for the assay from the reagent pack into the designated reaction vessel wells; this probe then delivers the recombinant Toxo antigen coated microparticles from the reagent pack and an aliquot of the diluted sample to the designated reaction vessel well; the reaction vessel is then transferred to the process carousel; Toxo-specific antibodies bind to the Toxo recombinant antigen coated microparticles forming an antigen-antibody complex; assay diluent is added to the reaction mixture and matrix cell and then an aliquot of the reaction mixture is transferred to the glass fiber matrix in the auxiliary carousel; the microparticles bind irreversibly to the matrix; the matrix is washed with MEIA buffer and line diluent or RF Neutralization Buffer to remove unbound antibodies; goat anti-human IgM alkaline phosphate conjugate is added to the matrix and binds to the Toxo-specific IgM captured by the Toxo recombinant antigens; the matrix is then washed with MEIA buffer to remove any unbound enzyme-antibody conjugate; the enzyme substrate MUP is added to the matrix; the alkaline phosphatase enzyme present on the matrix attached to the goat anti-human IgM catalyzes the hydrolysis of the phosphoryl moiety from MUP, producing a highly fluorescent product which is measured by the AxSYM® MEIA optical system; the signal intensity (rate counts) is proportional to the amount of Toxo-specific IgM antibodies present in the sample.

Step D: Evaluation of MBP fusion proteins rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C(52-324aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del2(52-311aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) and rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) in the AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 and Toxo IgM v2 Immunoassays

The AxSYM® Toxo IgG and IgM reagent packs were assembled as described in Examples 4B and 4C using the microparticles coated with the Toxo antigens described in Example 4A. The Toxo IgG A and F calibrators (Acal and Fcal) and Panel 6 (PNL6) were tested with the AxSYM Toxo IgG v2 reagent packs and the Toxo IgM Negative Control (NC), Index Calibrator (IC), and Panel 6 (PNL6) were tested with the AxSYM® Toxo IgM v2 reagent packs. The results are shown below in Tables 1 and 2.

TABLE 1 Evaluation of the rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 Antigens in the AxSYM ® Toxo IgG v2 Assay Rate Counts Fcal/ PNL6/ Antigen Coated Acal Fcal Acal PNL6 Acal rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 40 3495 87 643 16 (52-336aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 29 2599 90 544 19 del1C(52-324aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 28 3191 114 1129 40 del2(52-311aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 29 3199 110 1112 38 del3C(52-300aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 29 3352 116 1302 45 del4C(52-294aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 40 4277 107 1285 32 del10(52-284aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 48 4076 85 1118 23 del11(52-214aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 34 59 1.7 37 1.1 del4del8(83-294aa)

TABLE 2 Evaluation of the rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 Antigens in the AxSYM ® Toxo IgM v2 Assay Rate Counts Antigen Coated NC IC PNL6 PNL6/NC rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 33 175 210 6.4 (52-336aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del1C 48 189 250 5.2 (52-324aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del2 43 315 440 10.2 (52-311aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C 49 187 459 9.4 (52-300aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C 51 203 527 10.3 (52-294aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del10 39 158 370 9.5 (52-284aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11 36 130 312 8.7 (52-214aa) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4 38 75 38 1.0 del8(83-294aa)

As can be seen in both Tables 1 and 2, a surprising result was obtained. In particular, deletion of amino acids from the C-terminus of the ToxoP30 antigen resulted in improved Toxo-specific IgG and IgM immunoreactivity, as measured by increased rate counts for Panel 6 and improved rate count ratios for Fcal/Acal, Panel 6/Acal, and Panel 6/NC, up to a deletion of 42 amino acids (compare protein rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) with protein rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30(52-336aa) in Tables 1 and 2). The genetically engineered rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) protein yielded maximal rate counts for Panel 6 and maximal rate count ratios in both assays. These results suggest that small deletions of the C-terminus of ToxoP30 reveal or make available new epitopes for binding of Toxo-specific IgG and IgM that are occluded in the full-length protein. Deletion of additional C-terminal amino acids (compare protein rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del10(52-284aa) and rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa) with protein rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) in Tables 1 and 2) resulted in reduced immunoreactivity, suggesting the loss of IgG and IgM epitopes with larger C-terminal deletions. In contrast, the introduction of a small 30 amino acid deletion in the N-terminus of the optimal protein rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C, which generated the protein rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa), completely abolished Toxo-specific IgG and IgM immunoreactivity. These results also suggest that some of the cysteine residues present in the C-terminal portion of the ToxoP30 protein are dispensable for optimal Toxo IgG and IgM immunoreactivity. For example, the optimal protein rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa) contains 11 cysteine residues and the protein rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del11(52-214aa), which demonstrated good but not optimal immunoreactivity, contains 7 cysteine residues.

EXAMPLE 5 Construction of Toxo P30 Synthetic Genes Containing Mutations Which Change Cysteine Residues to Alanine

Based on the results obtained from deletion analysis of the Toxo P30 gene in Example 4D, a new series of MBP-ToxoP30 fusion proteins was constructed. Since there are 12 cysteine residues present in the mature Toxo P30 protein (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591; Velge-Roussel et al. (1994) Molec. Biochem. Parasitol. 66:31-38), there are mathematically 2¹² or 4,096 different Toxo P30 proteins that can be constructed which contain various combinations of changing one or more of the twelve cysteine residues to alanine. It would certainly be impossible to try all 4,096 different cysteine to alanine combinations to further optimize the immunoreactivity of the Toxo P30 antigen. Hence, the results in Example 4D were used to narrow the number of different mutant Toxo P30 genes to build that have the potential for improved Toxo IgG and IgM immunoreactivity in an automated immunoassay. Mutant oligonucleotides were designed for the in vitro synthesis of three Toxo P30 genes that contain mutations which change various cysteine residues to alanine, and also introduce the same 3′ deletion in the Toxo P30 gene present in ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) (SEQ ID NO:22 and FIG. 16).

The synthesis of each Toxo P30 gene required the synthesis and assembly of 16 overlapping oligonucleotides. These oligonucleotides ranged from 67-72 bases in length with neighboring oligonucleotides overlapping by 20-23 residues. The P30 genes were assembled by recursive PCR followed by PCR amplification of the assembled genes (Withers-Martinez et al. (1999) Protein Engr. 12:1113-1120; Prytulla et al. (1996) FEBS Lett. 399:283-289; Kataoka et al. (1998) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 250:409-413) using a P30 sense primer containing an EcoRI site and an antisense primer containing a HindIII site. After PCR amplification, the P30 gene was digested with EcoRI and HindIII, purified on an agarose gel, and ligated to the pMAL-c2X vector backbone which had been digested by EcoRI and HindIII as shown schematically in FIG. 30.

Step A: Construction of pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1

The plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1 was constructed by cloning a synthetic DNA fragment containing Toxo P30, obtained by the synthesis and assembly of 16 oligonucleotides, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 30). This plasmid differs from plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) of EXAMPLE 2E in that the Toxo P30 DNA sequence in plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1 has been changed so that five of the twelve cysteine residues of Toxo P30 (cysteine nos. 8-12) have been changed to alanine. Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the vector backbone was purified on an agarose gel. The following oligonucleotides were synthesized for construction of the ToxoP30MIX1 gene:

P30.001 [SEQ ID NO:44] 5′-CTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACCTGCCCAGATAAAAAATCGACAGC CGCGGTCATTCTCACACCGACGG-3′ P30.002 [SEQ ID NO:45] 5′-GAGGCTCTGTGAGCGCTGTTTTAGGGCACTTGAGAGTGAAGTGGTTC TCCGTCGGTGTGAGAATGACCG-3′ P30.003 [SEQ ID NO:46] 5′-CCTAAAACAGCGCTCACAGAGCCTCCCACTCTTGCGTACTCACCCAA CAGGCAAATCTGCCCAGCGG-3′ P30.004 [SEQ ID NO:47] 5′-GGAATCAAGGAGCTCAATGTTACAGCCTTTGATGTACAGCTACTTGT AGTACCCGCTGGGCAGATTTGCCTG-3′ P30.005 [SEQ ID NO:48] 5′-GTAACATTGAGCTCCTTGATTCCTGAAGCAGAAGATAGCTGGTGGAC GGGGGATTCTGCTAGTCTCGACACGG-3′ P30.006 [SEQ ID NO:49] 5′-CTGCGTTGTCACGGGGAACTTCTCGATTGGAACTGTGAGTTTGATGC CTGCCGTGTCGAGACTAGCAGAATC-3′ P30.007 [SEQ ID NO:50] 5′-GAAGTTCCCCGTGACAACGCAGACGTTTGTGGTCGGTTGCATCAAGG GAGACGACGCACAGAGTTGTATG-3′ P30.008 [SEQ ID NO:51] 5′-GCGACATTATTGACGACCGATGAGGCTCTGGCTTGTACTGTCACCGT GACCATACAACTCTGTGCGTCGTC-3′ P30.009 [SEQ ID NO:52] 5′-CATCGGTCGTCAATAATGTCGCAAGGTGCTCCTACGGTGCAGACAGC ACTCTTGGTCCTGTCAAGTTGTC-3′ P30.010Ala8 [SEQ ID NO:53] 5′-GACTCCATCTTTCCCAGCCACGAGGGTCATTGTAGTGGGTCCTTCCG CAGACAACTTGACAGGACCAAGAG-3′ P30.011Ala8Ala9 [SEQ ID NO:54] 5′-GTGGCTGGGAAAGATGGAGTCAAAGTTCCTCAAGACAACAATCAGTA CGCTTCCGGGACGACGCTGACTGG-3′ P30.012Ala9Ala10 [SEQ ID NO:55] 5′-GTTCTCAGTTAATTTTGGCAAAATATCTTTGAACGATTTCTCGTTAG CACCAGTCAGCGTCGTCCCGGAAG-3′ P30.013 [SEQ ID NO:56] 5′-GATATTTTGCCAAAATTAACTGAGAACCCGTGGCAGGGTAACGCTTC GAGTGATAAGGGTGCCACGCTAAC-3′ P30.014 [SEQ ID NO:57] 5′-CCAATAATGACGCTTTTTGACTCGGCTGGAAATGCTTCCTTCTTGAT CGTTAGCGTGGCACCCTTATCAC-3′ P30.015Ala11Ala12 [SEQ ID NO:58] 5′-GTCAAAAAGCGTCATTATTGGAGCTACAGGGGGATCGCCTGAGAAGC ATCACGCTACCGTGAAACTGGAG-3′ P30.016Ala12 [SEQ ID NO:59] 5′-GACTGGCTGTTCCCGCAGCCGATTTTGCTGACCCTGCAGCCCCGGCA AACTCCAGTTTCACGGTAGCGTG-3′

In the first step of gene synthesis, 4 picomoles of each oligonucleotide were mixed together and assembled using recursive PCR as follows: 1 cycle at 95° C. for 5 minutes followed by 35 cycles at 95° C. for 1 minute, 55° C. for 2 minutes, 72° C. for 2 minutes; 1 cycle at 72° C. for 10 minutes followed by a soak cycle at 4° C. In the second step of gene synthesis, a sense primer, starting at nucleotide 464 of the P30 gene containing an EcoRI site, and an antisense primer containing a HindIII site, starting at nucleotide 1210 of the P30 gene (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591) were synthesized as shown below:

Sense Primer [SEQ ID NO:1] 5′-GGCGAATTCCTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACC-3′ (EcoRI site is underlined) Antisense Primer [SEQ ID NO:60] 5′-CAGGTCAAGCTTTCACTCCAGTTTCACGGTAGCGTG-3′ (HindIII site is underlined.) The sense and antisense primers were added to a PCR reaction mixture containing the assembled oligonucleotides from the first step of gene synthesis. After PCR amplification and purification of the reaction mixture with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit, the reaction mixture was digested with EcoRI and HindIII, and the 747 base pair DNA fragment containing Toxo P30MIX1 was purified on an agarose gel. The purified 747 base pair fragment was ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 synthetic DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1 contained the Toxo P30MIX1 gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X. The complete DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:61] of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1 is shown in FIG. 31, and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:62] of the MBP-ToxoP30MIX1 fusion protein is also shown in FIG. 31, wherein cysteine amino acid residues located at 555, 570, 578, 625, 635 of SEQ ID NO:21 are now alanine amino acids located at 555, 570, 578, 625, 635 of SEQ ID NO:62. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1 was deposited with the ATCC 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, Va. 20110-2209, under terms of the Budapest Treaty on Sep. 26, 2002, and was accorded Accession No. ATCC 4721. The DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:63] of ToxoP30MIX1 is shown in FIG. 32, and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:64] of the ToxoP30MIX1 protein is also shown in FIG. 32, wherein cysteine amino acid residues located at 164, 179, 187, 234, 244 of SEQ ID NO:23 are now alanine amino acids located at 164, 179, 187, 234, 244 of SEQ ID NO:64. Step B: Construction of pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX3

The plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX3 was constructed by cloning a synthetic DNA fragment containing Toxo P30, obtained by the synthesis and assembly of 16 oligonucleotides, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 30). This plasmid differs from plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) of EXAMPLE 2E in that the Toxo P30 DNA sequence in plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX3 has been changed so that six of the twelve cysteine residues of Toxo P30 (cysteine nos. 7-12) have been changed to alanine. Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII, and the vector backbone was purified on an agarose gel. The following oligonucleotides were synthesized for construction of the ToxoP30MIX3 gene:

P30.001 [SEQ ID NO:44] 5′-CTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACCTGCCCAGATAAAAAATCGACAGC CGCGGTCATTCTCACACCGACGG-3′ P30.002 [SEQ ID NO:45] 5′-GAGGCTCTGTGAGCGCTGTTTTAGGGCACTTGAGAGTGAAGTGGTTC TCCGTCGGTGTGAGAATGACCG-3′ P30.003 [SEQ ID NO:46] 5′-CCTAAAACAGCGCTCACAGAGCCTCCCACTCTTGCGTACTCACCCAA CAGGCAAATCTGCCCAGCGG-3′ P30.004 [SEQ ID NO:47] 5′-GGAATCAAGGAGCTCAATGTTACAGCCTTTGATGTACAGCTACTTGT AGTACCCGCTGGGCAGATTTGCCTG-3′ P30.005 [SEQ ID NO:48] 5′-GTAACATTGAGCTCCTTGATTCCTGAAGCAGAAGATAGCTGGTGGAC GGGGGATTCTGCTAGTCTCGACACGG-3′ P30.006 [SEQ ID NO:49] 5′-CTGCGTTGTCACGGGGAACTTCTCGATTGGAACTGTGAGTTTGATGC CTGCCGTGTCGAGACTAGCAGAATC-3′ P30.007 [SEQ ID NO:50] 5′-GAAGTTCCCCGTGACAACGCAGACGTTTGTGGTCGGTTGCATCAAGG GAGACGACGCACAGAGTTGTATG-3′ P30.008 [SEQ ID NO:51] 5′-GCGACATTATTGACGACCGATGAGGCTCTGGCTTGTACTGTCACCGT GACCATACAACTCTGTGCGTCGTC-3′ P30.009Ala7 [SEQ ID NO:65] 5′-CATCGGTCGTCAATAATGTCGCAAGGGCTTCCTACGGTGCAGACAGC ACTCTTGGTCCTGTCAAGTTGTC-3′ P30.010Ala8 [SEQ ID NO:53] 5′-GACTCCATCTTTCCCAGCCACGAGGGTCATTGTAGTGGGTCCTTCCG CAGACAACTTGACAGGACCAAGAG-3′ P30.011Ala8Ala9 [SEQ ID NO:54] 5′-GTGGCTGGGAAAGATGGAGTCAAAGTTCCTCAAGACAACAATCAGTA CGCTTCCGGGACGACGCTGACTGG-3′ P30.012Ala9Ala10 [SEQ ID NO:55] 5′-GTTCTCAGTTAATTTTGGCAAAATATCTTTGAACGATTTCTCGTTAG CACCAGTCAGCGTCGTCCCGGAAG-3′ P30.013 [SEQ ID NO:56] 5′-GATATTTTGCCAAAATTAACTGAGAACCCGTGGCAGGGTAACGCTTC GAGTGATAAGGGTGCCACGCTAAC-3′ P30.014 [SEQ ID NO:57] 5′-CCAATAATGACGCTTTTTGACTCGGCTGGAAATGCTTCCTTCTTGAT CGTTAGCGTGGCACCCTTATCAC-3′ P30.015Ala11Ala12 [SEQ ID NO:58] 5′-GTCAAAAAGCGTCATTATTGGAGCTACAGGGGGATCGCCTGAGAAGC ATCACGCTACCGTGAAACTGGAG-3′ P30.016Ala12 [SEQ ID NO:59] 5′-GACTGGCTGTTCCCGCAGCCGATTTTGCTGACCCTGCAGCCCCGGCA AACTCCAGTTTCACGGTAGCGTG-3′

In the first step of gene synthesis, 4 picomoles of each oligonucleotide were mixed together and assembled using recursive PCR as follows: 1 cycle at 95° C. for 5 minutes followed by 35 cycles at 95° C. for 1 minute, 55° C. for 2 minutes, 72° C. for 2 minutes; 1 cycle at 72° C. for 10 minutes followed by a soak cycle at 4° C. In the second step of gene synthesis, a sense primer, starting at nucleotide 464 of the P30 gene containing an EcoRI site, and an antisense primer containing a HindIII site, starting at nucleotide 1210 of the P30 gene (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591) were synthesized as shown below:

Sense Primer [SEQ ID NO:1] 5′-GGCGAATTCCTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACC-3′ (EcoRI site is underlined) Antisense Primer [SEQ ID NO:60] 5′-CAGGTCAAGCTTTCACTCCAGTTTCACGGTAGCGTG-3′ (HindIII site is underlined.) The sense and antisense primers were added to a PCR reaction mixture containing the assembled oligonucleotides from the first step of gene synthesis. After PCR amplification and purification of the reaction mixture with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit, the reaction mixture was digested with EcoRI and HindIII, and the 747 base pair DNA fragment containing Toxo P30MIX3 was purified on an agarose gel. The purified 747 base pair fragment was ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 synthetic DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX3 contained the Toxo P30MIX3 gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X. The complete DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:66] of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX3 is shown in FIG. 33, and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:67] of the MBP-ToxoP30MIX3 fusion protein is also shown in FIG. 33, wherein cysteine amino acid residues located at 530, 555, 570, 578, 625, 635 of SEQ ID NO:21 are now alanine amino acids located at 530, 555, 570, 578, 625, 635 of SEQ ID NO:67. The DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:68] of ToxoP30MIX3 is shown in FIG. 34, and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:69] of the ToxoP30MIX3 protein is also shown in FIG. 34, wherein cysteine amino acid residues located at 139, 164, 179, 187, 234, 244 of SEQ ID NO:23 are now alanine amino acids located at 139, 164, 179, 187, 234, 244 of SEQ ID NO:69. Step C: Construction of pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX5

The plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX5 was constructed by cloning a synthetic DNA fragment containing Toxo P30, obtained by the synthesis and assembly of 16 oligonucleotides, into the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X (FIG. 30). This plasmid differs from plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa) of EXAMPLE 2E in that the Toxo P30 DNA sequence in plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX5 has been changed so that six of the twelve cysteine residues of Toxo P30 (cysteine nos. 2 and 8-12) have been changed to alanine. Plasmid pMAL-c2X was digested with EcoRI/HindIII and the vector backbone was purified on an agarose gel. The following oligonucleotides were synthesized for construction of the ToxoP30MIX5 gene:

P30.001 [SEQ ID NO:44] 5′-CTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACCTGCCCAGATAAAAAATCGACAGC CGCGGTCATTCTCACACCGACGG-3′ P30.002Ala2 [SEQ ID NO:70] 5′-GAGGCTCTGTGAGCGCTGTTTTAGGAGCCTTGAGAGTGAAGTGGTTC TCCGTCGGTGTGAGAATGACCG-3′ P30.003 [SEQ ID NO:46] 5′-CCTAAAACAGCGCTCACAGAGCCTCCCACTCTTGCGTACTCACCCAA CAGGCAAATCTGCCCAGCGG-3′ P30.004 [SEQ ID NO:47] 5′-GGAATCAAGGAGCTCAATGTTACAGCCTTTGATGTACAGCTACTTGT AGTACCCGCTGGGCAGATTTGCCTG-3′ P30.005 [SEQ ID NO:48] 5′-GTAACATTGAGCTCCTTGATTCCTGAAGCAGAAGATAGCTGGTGGAC GGGGGATTCTGCTAGTCTCGACACGG-3′ P30.006 [SEQ ID NO:49] 5′-CTGCGTTGTCACGGGGAACTTCTCGATTGGAACTGTGAGTTTGATGC CTGCCGTGTCGAGACTAGCAGAATC-3′ P30.007 [SEQ ID NO:50] 5′-GAAGTTCCCCGTGACAACGCAGACGTTTGTGGTCGGTTGCATCAAGG GAGACGACGCACAGAGTTGTATG-3′ P30.008 [SEQ ID NO:51] 5′-GCGACATTATTGACGACCGATGAGGCTCTGGCTTGTACTGTCACCGT GACCATACAACTCTGTGCGTCGTC-3′ P30.009 [SEQ ID NO:52] 5′-CATCGGTCGTCAATAATGTCGCAAGGTGCTCCTACGGTGCAGACAGC ACTCTTGGTCCTGTCAAGTTGTC-3′ P30.010Ala8 [SEQ ID NO:53] 5′-GACTCCATCTTTCCCAGCCACGAGGGTCATTGTAGTGGGTCCTTCCG CAGACAACTTGACAGGACCAAGAG-3′ P30.011Ala8Ala9 [SEQ ID NO:54] 5′-GTGGCTGGGAAAGATGGAGTCAAAGTTCCTCAAGACAACAATCAGTA CGCTTCCGGGACGACGCTGACTGG-3′ P30.012Ala9Ala10 [SEQ ID NO:55] 5′-GTTCTCAGTTAATTTTGGCAAAATATCTTTGAACGATTTCTCGTTAG CACCAGTCAGCGTCGTCCCGGAAG-3′ P30.013 [SEQ ID NO:56] 5′-GATATTTTGCCAAAATTAACTGAGAACCCGTGGCAGGGTAACGCTTC GAGTGATAAGGGTGCCACGCTAAC-3′ P30.014 [SEQ ID NO:57] 5′-CCAATAATGACGCTTTTTGACTCGGCTGGAAATGCTTCCTTCTTGAT CGTTAGCGTGGCACCCTTATCAC-3′ P30.015Ala11Ala12 [SEQ ID NO:58] 5′-GTCAAAAAGCGTCATTATTGGAGCTACAGGGGGATCGCCTGAGAAGC ATCACGCTACCGTGAAACTGGAG-3′ P30.016Ala12 [SEQ ID NO:59] 5′-GACTGGCTGTTCCCGCAGCCGATTTTGCTGACCCTGCAGCCCCGGCA AACTCCAGTTTCACGGTAGCGTG-3′

In the first step of gene synthesis, 4 picomoles of each oligonucleotide were mixed together and assembled using recursive PCR as follows: 1 cycle at 95° C. for 5 minutes followed by 35 cycles at 95° C. for 1 minute, 55° C. for 2 minutes, 72° C. for 2 minutes; 1 cycle at 72° C. for 10 minutes followed by a soak cycle at 4° C. In the second step of gene synthesis, a sense primer, starting at nucleotide 464 of the P30 gene containing an EcoRI site, and an antisense primer containing a HindIII site, starting at nucleotide 1210 of the P30 gene (Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141:3584-3591) were synthesized as shown below:

Sense Primer [SEQ ID NO:1] 5′-GGCGAATTCCTTGTTGCCAATCAAGTTGTCACC-3′ (EcoRI site is underlined) Antisense Primer [SEQ ID NO:60] 5′-CAGGTCAAGCTTTCACTCCAGTTTCACGGTAGCGTG-3′ (HindIII site is underlined.) The sense and antisense primers were added to a PCR reaction mixture containing the assembled oligonucleotides from the first step of gene synthesis. After PCR amplification and purification of the reaction mixture with a Qiaquick PCR purification kit, the reaction mixture was digested with EcoRI and HindIII, and the 747 base pair DNA fragment containing Toxo P30MIX5 was purified on an agarose gel. The purified 747 base pair fragment was ligated to pMAL-c2X/EcoRI/HindIII overnight at 16° C. The ligation mixture was transformed into competent XL-1 Blue cells. Miniprep DNA was prepared from the transformants and screened for the presence of the P30 synthetic DNA sequence by restriction enzyme analysis. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX5 contained the Toxo P30MIX5 gene cloned at the EcoRI/HindIII sites of pMAL-c2X. The complete DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:71] of plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX5 is shown in FIG. 35, and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:72] of the MBP-ToxoP30MIX5 fusion protein is also shown in FIG. 35, wherein cysteine amino acid residues located at 422, 555, 570, 578, 625, 635 of SEQ ID NO:21 are now alanine amino acids located at 422, 555, 570, 578, 625, 635 of SEQ ID NO:72. The DNA sequence [SEQ ID NO:73] of ToxoP30MIX5 is shown in FIG. 36, and the corresponding amino acid sequence [SEQ ID NO:74] of the ToxoP30MIX5 protein is also shown in FIG. 36, wherein cysteine amino acid residues located at 31, 164, 179, 187, 234, 244 of SEQ ID NO:23 are now alanine amino acids located at 31, 164, 179, 187, 234, 244 of SEQ ID NO:74.

EXAMPLE 6 Expression of rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX Antigens in E. coli

Step A: Expression of Cloned Genes in E. coli

Bacterial clones pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1, pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX3, and pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX5 expressing the MBP fusion proteins rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1, rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX3, and rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX5 of Example 5 were grown in “SUPERBROTH II” media containing 100 μg/ml ampicillin to log phase, and the synthesis of the MBP-ToxoP30MIX fusion proteins was induced by the addition of IPTG as previously described (Robinson et al. (1993) J. Clin. Microbiol. 31:629-635). After 4 hours post-induction, the cells were harvested, and the cell pellets were stored at −80C until protein purification occurred.

Step B: Purification of MBP-ToxoP30MIX Fusion Proteins

Soluble fusion proteins rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1, rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX3, and rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX5 were purified after lysis from cell paste following the New England Biolabs pMAL Protein Fusion and Purification instruction manual. Following lysis and centrifugation, the crude supernatants containing the fusion proteins were loaded onto an amylose affinity column. Following washing of the column, the fusion proteins were eluted from the column with maltose, appropriate column fractions were pooled and filtered through a 0.2μ filter, and then stored at 2-8° C. until coating onto microparticles.

EXAMPLE 7 Evaluation of rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX Antigens in an Automated Toxo IgG and IgM Immunoassay

Step A: Coating of rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX Antigens onto Microparticles

Prior to coating microparticles, the rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1, rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX3 and rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX5 antigens were diluted to a concentration of 1 mg/ml and incubated at 37° C. for 24 hours. Following the heat treatment step, the rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX antigens were coated separately onto sulfate-derivatized polystyrene microparticles (1-5% solids) in a vessel containing MES pH 6.2 buffer with EDAC for 30 minutes at room temperature, on an end over end rotator. The coated microparticles were then collected by centrifugation at 14,000×g for 10 minutes and the supernatant was discarded. The microparticles were resuspended in a microparticle storage buffer containing Tris buffer, pH 7.5, EDTA, sodium chloride, Tween 20, fetal calf serum (Toxo antibody free), sodium azide, and sucrose using a syringe and needle. The microparticles were then diluted with microparticle storage buffer to a final concentration of 0.1-0.3% solids and filled into plastic bottles.

Step B: Evaluation of MBP fusion proteins rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1, rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX3 and rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX5 in the AxSYM Toxo IgG v2 and Toxo IgM v2 Immunoassays

The AxSYM® Toxo IgG and IgM reagent packs were assembled as described in Examples 4B and 4C using the microparticles coated with the Toxo antigens described in Example 7A. The Toxo IgG A and F calibrators (Acal and Fcal) and Panel 6 (PNL6) were tested with the AxSYM Toxo IgG v2 reagent packs and the Toxo IgM Negative Control (NC), Index Calibrator (IC), and Panel 6 (PNL6) were tested with the AxSYM Toxo IgM v2 reagent packs. The results are shown below in Tables 3 and 4.

TABLE 3 Evaluation of the rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX Antigens in the AxSYM Toxo IgG v2 Assay Rate Counts Fcal/ PNL6/ Antigen Coated Acal Fcal Acal PNL6 Acal rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 34 3847 113 1445 43 MIX1 (Ala8-12) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 35 3704 106 1043 30 MIX3 (Ala7-12) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 35 57 1.6 23 0.7 MIX5 (Ala2, Ala8-12)

TABLE 4 Evaluation of the rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX Antigens in the AxSYM Toxo IgM v2 Assay Rate Counts Antigen Coated NC IC PNL6 PNL6/NC rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 37 149 459 12.4 MIX1 (Ala8-12) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 44 111 368 8.4 MIX3 (Ala7-12) rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 31 49 27 0.9 MIX5 (Ala2, Ala8-12) As can be seen in Tables 3 and 4, the genetically engineered rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1 antigen, which contained five C-terminal cysteine residues substituted with alanine, yielded the best Toxo IgG and IgM immunoreactivity as measured by the highest rate counts for Panel 6 and highest rate count ratios for Fcal/Acal, Panel 6/Acal, and Panel 6/NC. In addition, the rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1 antigen yielded the highest rate counts for Panel6 and the highest Panel6/NC rate count ratio in the Toxo IgM v2 assay for any rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 antigen tested (see Tables 1 and 2). The rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX5 antigen, which contained five C-terminal cysteine residues substituted with alanine residues plus the substitution of cysteine no. 2 with alanine, was not immunoreactive in either assay. This result was consistent with the results obtained with the rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4del8(83-294aa) antigen (see Tables 1 and 2), in which deletion of the first two cysteine residues of Toxo P30 resulted in complete loss of immunoreactivity. Thus, the surprising result was obtained that substitution of several cysteine residues in the C-terminal half of Toxo P30 with alanine results in superior Toxo IgG and IgM immunoreactivity of the antigen whereas substitution of a single cysteine with alanine in the N-terminal half of Toxo P30 completely abolishes immunoreactivity.

EXAMPLE 8 Purification and Coating of the rpToxoP35S Antigen

The rpToxoP35S antigen described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,157 B1 was expressed in E. coli, and cell paste was harvested as described in Example 6A. This antigen was then purified from cell paste and coated onto microparticles as described below.

Step A: Purification of the rpToxoP35S Antigen

The rpToxoP35S antigen was expressed in E. coli as an insoluble fusion protein. Following lysis of the cell paste, the inclusion bodies containing the rpToxoP35S antigen were washed with water, phosphate buffer, Triton X-100, and urea. The rpToxoP35S antigen was then solubilized in a SDS/DTT buffer and applied to a Sephacryl S-300 column. The appropriate column fractions were pooled, diluted to a concentration of 1 mg/ml and filtered through a 0.2μ filter, and then stored at −80° C. until coating.

Step B: Coating of the rpToxoP35S Antigen onto Microparticles

The rpToxoP35S antigen was thawed and brought into solution by mild warming followed by centrifugation to remove particulate matter. This antigen was then dialyzed against three changes of MES buffer, pH 6.2 at room temperature overnight and then coated onto sulfate-derivatized polystyrene microparticles (1-5% solids) in a vessel containing MES pH 6.2 buffer with EDAC for 30 minutes at room temperature, on an end over end rotator. The coated microparticles were then collected by centrifugation at 14,000×g for 10 minutes and the supernatant was discarded. The microparticles were resuspended in a microparticle storage buffer containing Tris buffer, pH 7.5, EDTA, sodium chloride, Tween 20, fetal calf serum (Toxo antibody free), sodium azide, and sucrose using a syringe and needle. The microparticles were then diluted with microparticle storage buffer to a final concentration of 0.1-0.3% solids and filled into plastic bottles.

EXAMPLE 9 Development of Antigen Cocktails Employing the Genetically Engineered P30 Antigens

After achieving a significant improvement in the Toxo IgG and IgM immunoreactivity of the P30 antigen through genetic engineering (Examples 4 and 7), a preliminary re-evaluation of microparticles coated with the Toxo antigens described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,157 B1 in the AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 and IgM v2 assays was performed. Evaluation of these antigen coated microparticles in conjunction with microparticles coated with the P30 antigens rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa), and rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1 suggested that a new combination of either the rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa), or rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1 antigen with the rpToxoP35S antigen could improve the performance of the AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 assay. In addition, the rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa), or rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1 antigens alone could improve the performance of the AxSYM® Toxo IgM v2 assay. In order to demonstrate the diagnostic utility of the genetically engineered P30 antigens and the new genetically engineered P30/P35 antigen cocktail, human sera negative for Toxo antibodies and sera sourced from patients with an acute or chronic toxoplasmosis were tested in the AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 and IgM v2 assays as described below.

Step A: Assembly of AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 Reagent Packs

Purified Toxo antigens rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1, and rpToxoP35S were coated unto microparticles as previously described in Examples 4A and 7A. The microparticles were then diluted to a final concentration 0.2% solids and the following three microparticle blends were made: 2:1 v/v blend of rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa):rpToxoP35S coated microparticles (labeled as P30del3/P35); 2:1 v/v blend of rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa):rpToxoP35S coated microparticles (labeled as P30del4/P35); and a 2:1 v/v blend of rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1:rpToxoP35S coated microparticles (labeled as P30MIX1/P35). These three microparticle blends were filled into plastic bottles, assembled into individual AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 reagent kits as described in Example 4B, and labeled as P30del3C/35, P30del4C/P35, and P30MIX1/P35.

Step B: Assembly of AxSYM® Toxo IgM v2 Reagent Packs

Purified Toxo antigens rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del3C(52-300aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30del4C(52-294aa), rpMBP-c2X-ToxoP30MIX1, and rpToxoP35S were coated onto microparticles as previously described in Examples 4A and 7A. The microparticles were then diluted to a final concentration of 0.2% solids and filled into plastic bottles. AxSYM® Toxo IgM v2 kits were assembled with each coated microparticle as described in Example 4C and labeled as P30del3C, P30del4C, and P30MIX1.

Step C: Human Sera for Testing

Three groups of human sera from a French population were tested in this evaluation: Group 1 (n=100) human sera negative for Toxo IgG and IgM antibodies by the Abbott IMx® Toxo IgG and IgM assays, respectively (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.); Group 2 (n=56) human sera positive for Toxo IgG and negative for Toxo IgM antibodies by the Abbott IMx® Toxo IgG and IgM assays, respectively; Group 3 (n=52) human sera positive for Toxo IgG antibodies by a high sensitivity direct agglutination assay (HSDA) (Desmonts, G. and Remington, J. S. (1980) J. Clin. Microbiol. 11:562-568) and positive for Toxo IgM antibodies by an IgM immunocapture assay (IC-M) (Pouletty et al. (1985) J. Immunol. Methods 76:289-298). The assay calibrators and controls for the AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 and Toxo IgM v2 assays were run as previously described in Examples 4B-D. The Abbott AxSYM® Toxo IgG and IgM assays (Abbott Laboratories Abbott Park, Ill.), which use the tachyzoite antigen for detection of Toxo-specific IgG and IgM, were included as reference assays during specimen testing.

Step D: Evaluation of the AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 assays

All specimens in Groups 1-3 were tested by the AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 assays (P30del3C/35, P30del4C/P35, and P30MIX1/P35) and by the AxSYM® Toxo IgG assay. The same assay cutoff of 3 IU/ml for the AxSYM Toxo IgG assay was employed for AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 assays, with an equivocal zone from 2-3 IU/ml. The performance of the recombinant antigen based AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 assays was compared to the tachyzoite antigen based AxSYM® Toxo IgG assay and is shown in Tables 5-7.

TABLE 5 Evaluation of the AxSYM ® Toxo IgG v2 P30del3C/P35 assay AxSYM ® Toxo IgG POS EQV NEG TOTAL AxSYM ® Toxo POS 108 0 0 108 IgG v2 EQV 0 0 1 1 P30del3C/P35 NEG 0 0 99 99 TOTAL 108 0 100 208 Sensitivity: 108/108 = 100% Specificity: 99/99 = 100% Agreement: 207/207 = 100% Correlation Coefficient: r = 0.9751

TABLE 6 Evaluation of the AxSYM ® Toxo IgG v2 P30del4C/P35 assay AxSYM ® Toxo IgG POS EQV NEG TOTAL AxSYM ® Toxo POS 108 0 0 108 IgG v2 EQV 0 0 1 1 P30del4C/P35 NEG 0 0 99 99 TOTAL 108 0 100 208 Sensitivity: 108/108 = 100% Specificity: 99/99 = 100% Agreement: 207/207 = 100% Correlation Coefficient: r = 0.9778

TABLE 7 Evaluation of the AxSYM ® Toxo IgG v2 P30MIX1/P35 assay AxSYM ® Toxo IgG POS EQV NEG TOTAL AxSYM ® Toxo POS 108 0 0 108 IgG v2 EQV 0 0 1 1 P30MIX1/P35 NEG 0 0 99 99 TOTAL 108 0 100 208 Sensitivity: 108/108 = 100% Specificity: 99/99 = 100% Agreement: 207/207 = 100% Correlation Coefficient: r = 0.9563

As can be seen from Tables 5-7, the AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 assay using the combination of a genetically engineered antigen P30 antigen (P30del3C, P30del4C, or P30MIX1) with the P35 antigen is both a sensitive and specific assay for the detection of Toxoplasma-specific IgG as demonstrated by the overall high relative diagnostic sensitivity (100%), specificity (100%), and agreement (100%). All three AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 assays were in excellent agreement quantitatively with the AxSYM® Toxo IgG assay, as measured by the correlation coefficients, all of which were 0.95 or greater. The Toxo recombinant antigen cocktail comprised of the genetically engineered Toxo P30 antigen (P30del3C, P30del4C, or P30MIX1) and the P35 antigen, in combination with the AxSYM® Toxo IgG v2 assay, is both necessary and sufficient to replace the tachyzoite for the detection of Toxoplasma-specific IgG antibody.

Furthermore, there are several advantages of the recombinant antigen cocktail over the tachyzoite antigen for use in detection of IgG antibodies. First, the antigens are purified, and the amount of each antigen loaded into the immunoassay can be accurately determined and standardized, e.g., protein concentration. This minimizes between lot differences commonly observed in kits manufactured with different tachyzoite antigen lots. Hence, different lots of kits manufactured with different antigen cocktail lots will be very consistent from lot to lot. Secondly, mouse or human monoclonal antibodies to the individual recombinant Toxo antigens are used to monitor coating of the proteins to the solid phase. This further ensures that each lot produced is consistent. Third, the true clinical sensitivity of the assay using the purified antigens will be higher by virtue of the fact of the higher specific activity of the purified antigens. Finally, kits manufactured with the antigen cocktail are more stable during storage over time, and the performance of the assay using these antigens remains consistent over the shelf life of the assay. Kits manufactured with the tachyzoite antigen are not as stable and their performance may vary over time.

Additionally, there are many advantages of using a cocktail over using a single antigen alone. For example, an immune response to infection varies by individual. Some individuals produce antibodies to P35 and not to P30 early in infection (acute toxoplasmosis), whereas some individuals produce antibodies to P30 and not to P35 later in infection (chronic toxoplasmosis). Thus, the antigen cocktail of the present invention will detect both groups of individuals.

Moreover, immune responses vary with time. For example, one individual may produce antibodies against P35 first and then later produce antibodies to only P30. Thus, the present cocktail will detect both types of “positive” individuals.

Furthermore, individuals may be infected with different Toxo serotypes, strains or isolates. Thus, the immune response may be such that multiple antigens are needed to detect the presence of all antibodies being produced. Again, the present cocktail allows for such detection.

Also, it is known from previous Western Blot experiments with tachyzoite proteins that the immune response to Toxoplasma is directed against several antigens. Once again, the present antigen cocktail will allow for the detection of all antibodies produced in response to these antigens.

Step E: Evaluation of the AxSYM® Toxo IgM v2 Assays

All specimens in Groups 1-3 were tested by the AxSYM® Toxo IgM v2 assays (P30del3C, P30del4C, and P30MIX1) and by the AxSYM® Toxo IgM assay. A receiver operator characteristic (ROC) was used to assist the determination of the preliminary cutoff for the AxSYM® Toxo IgM v2 assays (Index value≧0.6) (Zweig, H M (1993) Clin. Chem. 39:561-577). In addition, an equivocal zone of Index value 0.500-0.599 was introduced to account for assay imprecision. The performance of the recombinant antigen based AxSYM® Toxo IgM v2 assays was compared to the tachyzoite antigen based AxSYM® Toxo IgM assay and is shown in Tables 8-10.

TABLE 8 Evaluation of the AxSYM ® Toxo IgM v2 P30del3C assay AxSYM ® Toxo IgM POS EQV NEG TOTAL AxSYM ® TOXO POS 33 2 7 42 IgM v2 EQV 5 1 3 9 P30del3C NEG 0 2 155 157 TOTAL 38 5 165 208 Sensitivity: 33/33 = 100% Specificity: 155/162 = 95.7% Agreement: 188/195 = 96.4%

TABLE 9 Evaluation of the AxSYM ® Toxo IgM v2 P30del4C assay AxSYM ® Toxo IgM POS EQV NEG TOTAL AxSYM ® Toxo POS 34 2 9 45 IgM v2 EQV 4 2 2 8 P30del4C NEG 0 1 154 155 TOTAL 38 5 165 208 Sensitivity: 34/34 = 100% Specificity: 154/163 = 94.5% Agreement: 188/197 = 95.4%

TABLE 10 Evaluation of the AxSYM ® Toxo IgM v2 P30MIX1 assay AxSYM ® Toxo IgM POS EQV NEG TOTAL AxSYM ® Toxo POS 35 2 8 45 IgM v2 EQV 2 0 3 5 P30MIX1 NEG 1 3 154 158 TOTAL 38 5 165 208 Sensitivity: 35/36 = 97.2% Specificity: 154/162 = 95.1% Agreement: 189/198 = 95.5%

As can be seen from Tables 8-10, the AxSYM® Toxo IgM v2 assay using the genetically engineered antigen P30 antigen (P30del3C, P30del4C, or P30MIX1) is both a sensitive and specific assay for the detection of Toxoplasma-specific IgG as demonstrated by the overall high relative diagnostic sensitivity (range=97.2%-100%), specificity (range 94.5%-95.7%), and agreement (range=95.4%-96.4%). The genetically engineered Toxo recombinant P30 antigen (P30del3C, P30del4C, or P30MIX1), in combination with the AxSYM® Toxo IgM v2 assay, is both necessary and sufficient to replace the tachyzoite for the detection of Toxoplasma-specific IgM antibody.

Furthermore, there are several advantages of the genetically engineered recombinant Toxo P30 antigen over the tachyzoite antigen for use in detection of IgM antibodies. First, the antigen is purified, and the amount of antigen loaded into the immunoassay can be accurately determined and standardized, e.g., protein concentration. This minimizes lot-to-to differences commonly observed in kits manufactured with different tachyzoite antigen lots. Hence, different lots of kits manufactured with different recombinant antigen lots will be very consistent from lot to lot. Secondly, mouse or human monoclonal antibodies to the recombinant Toxo antigen are used to monitor coating of the proteins to the solid phase. This further ensures that each lot produced is consistent. Third, the true clinical sensitivity of the assay using the purified antigens will be higher by virtue of the fact of the higher specific activity of the purified antigen. Finally, kits manufactured with the recombinant antigen are more stable during storage over time, and the performance of the assay using this antigen remains consistent over the shelf life of the assay. Kits manufactured with the tachyzoite antigen are not as stable and their performance may vary over time. 

1. Plasmid pMBP-c2X-ToxoP30 MIX1.
 2. An isolated nucleotide sequence comprising or complementary to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:61.
 3. An isolated nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide, wherein said polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:62. 